INTER STATS | Quality and quantity from Calhanoglu, Dzeko and Dumfries break new ground

MILAN –Inter’s win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico took the team into second place in the Serie A standings with 37 points, a single point off top spot, after overtaking Napoli. The Nerazzurri bagged three goals against Jose Mourinho's Giallorossi, the first scored by Hakan Calhanoglu direct from a corner kick followed by goals from Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries before the half-time break. Inter have scored 39 goals in Serie A this season, confirming that they have the best attack in the league, as well as the second-best defence with only 15 goals conceded. Against Roma, Simone Inzaghi's team picked up their third consecutive clean sheet in the league, their fourth in a row if we also count the Champions League win against Shakhtar. Inter have now scored in 18 consecutive Serie A matches, equalling their own record set between October 1950 and September 1951. Roma meanwhile have lost seven of their first 16 Serie A matches for the first time since 2008/09. Inter scored three first-half goals in a Serie A match for the first time since May 1999, when Ronaldo scored and Ivan Zamorano bagged two. Roma conceded three in the first half of a Serie A contest for the first time since February 2020, when they played Sassuolo.

CALHANOGLU: QUALITY AND QUANTITY

Since 2011/12, Hakan Calhanoglu is only the sixth player to score directly from a corner in Serie A (after Callejón, Pulgar, De Paul, Papu Gómez and Marco Rigoni). The midfielder has been involved in six goals (four goals, two assists) in the last five league games, as many as in the previous 19 Serie A matches. The midfielder has scored four times in his last five league games, as many as in his previous 28 Serie A outings. Only Mario Pasalic (seven) has been involved in more goals than the Turkish midfielder (six) in Serie A since November.

DUMFRIES: FIRST GOAL FOR INTER

By scoring Inter’s third against Roma, Denzel Dumfries found the back of the net for the first time in the Nerazzurri colours and in the Italian top-flight, with his fifth effort on target in the competition. Dumfries is the tenth Dutch player to score for Inter in Serie A.

DZEKO: ROMA HIS 69TH VICTIM

Edin Dzeko was back among the goals in Serie A, after a barren run of 393 minutes since scoring against Juventus in October. After the goal against Roma, he has now scored against 69 different teams. Since his first season in Europe’s top-five leagues (2007/08) only Cristiano Ronaldo (75) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (76) have scored against more different sides. The Bosnian striker's last two goals have come in the first half, after the previous eight had been scored in the second period.