Two for Lukaku, one for Lautaro: Inter beat Empoli 3 - 0

A right, then a left. Like a boxer who wins by knockout and, after a bit of a wait, delivers the winning blow. Behold, Romelu Lukaku. A first half without being able to break through the opponent's defence, for him and for all of Inter. Then, in the second half, everything changes. Lukaku scores: first with his right, then with his left. And, finally, he serves Lautaro for the 3-0. Here it is, Lu-La, here is the league win that had been missing for too long. Here are three fundamental and well-deserved points. Empoli swept away, 3-0 at the Castellani, in a match that was not a foregone conclusion, but of fundamental importance. If, on the one hand, Inter are flying in the Champions League, here was needed a clean start also in Serie A, where there are now 54 points in the standings.

There was sun and lots of it. And an almost summer-like temperature, just a few days after the heated Champions League night at San Siro. The Castellani is in Empoli, but the stadium is full, packed, with Nerazzurri fans. They sing, they support relentlessly, they drag. The start of the match for Inzaghi's team is vehement: there are seven changes compared to the match against Monza, nine compared to Inter-Benfica, but the mechanisms work. Bellanova took the flank with perseverance and churned out multiple balls into the box, Gagliardini inserted himself with timing. Empoli did not stand idly by, they needed points and had quick players like Baldanzi who could turn the action around and create danger. Cambiaghi found himself in front of Handanovic, who was also good on Baldanzi. As a counterpoint to the excellent start to the match, the pace in the second half was lower: Inter struggled more to create, Empoli didn't flinch. A jolt was needed, and Romelu provided it. A well-struck right-footer at the start of the second half, an open play goal that, for the Belgian, had been missing in the league since last August. In the 3rd minute of the second half, then, Inter were ahead, thanks to a narrow combination between Romelu and Brozovic, ended by the number 90's angled, unstoppable right-footer.

Inter ahead, Empoli forced to step it up and leave spaces. Like the one taken up by Calhanoglu, walled off by a very good Perisan. Then it was the crossbar that denied the Nerazzurri the second: on Gagliardini's cross, it was De Vrij who soared, hitting the woodwork. The knockout blow was needed to keep Empoli alive, still clinging on to Baldanzi's volleys. Right on time, however, came Lukaku's powerful, well-struck left-footed shot: a beautiful goal, a Romelu-esque goal, a quarter of an hour from the end. From the centre left, the number 90 took on Ismajli, skipped past him and slotted in at the opposite post with great power. It was a goal that killed Empoli's hopes and also left room for the third: the signature came from Lautaro (who took over from Correa), but the hand was always on Big Rom who served him perfectly, before running to embrace him after the winning left-footer from Toro. On which, flowed, inexorable, the credits of a beautiful Nerazzurri Sunday.

EMPOLI 0-3 INTER - BOX SCORE

Goalscorers: 48' & 76' Lukaku (I), 88' Lautaro (I)

EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): 1 Perisan; 24 Ebuehi, 34 Ismajli, 33 Luperto (26 Tonelli 72'), 65 Parisi; 32 Haas (5 Grassi 65'), 18 Marin, 25 Bandinelli (55 Vignato 72'); 35 Baldanzi; 19 Caputo (23 Destro 80'), 28 Cambiaghi (9 Satriano 65'). Substitutes: 22 Ujkani, 40 Stubljar, 3 Cacace, 8 Henderson, 14 Pjaca, 20 Degli Innocenti, 23 Destro, 30 Stojanovic, 91 Piccoli. Coach: Paolo Zanetti.

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 6 De Vrij, 15 Acerbi; 12 Bellanova (2 Dumfries 69'), 5 Gagliardini, 77 Brozovic (23 Barella 78'), 20 Calhanoglu, 8 Gosens (32 Dimarco 78'); 90 Lukaku, 11 Correa (10 Lautaro 69'). Substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 24 Onana, 9 Dzeko, 14 Asllani, 36 Darmian, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 95 Bastoni. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Bookings: Parisi (E), Barella (I) Added time: 2' - 4'

Referee: Marinelli. Assistants: Rossi, Di Gioia. Fourth official: Feliciani. VAR: Banti. Assistant VAR: Valeri.

Suspended: - Cautioned: Fazzini, Satriano (E); Acerbi, Dumfries, Mkhitaryan (I).

31st MATCHDAY

Hellas Verona 2-1 Bologna Salernitana 3-0 Sassuolo Lazio 0-1 Torino Sampdoria 1-1 Spezia Empoli 0-3 Inter Monza vs Fiorentina Udinese vs Cremonese Milan vs Lecce Juventus vs Napoli Atalanta vs Roma

TABLE

Napoli 75 Lazio 61* Juventus 59 Roma 56 Milan 53 Inter 54* Atalanta 49 Bologna 44* Fiorentina 42 Torino 42* Sassuolo 40* Udinese 39 Monza 38 Salernitana 31* Empoli 32* Lecce 28 Spezia 27* Hellas Verona 26* Cremonese 19 Sampdoria 17

*game in hand