Inter 2 - 0 Salernitana: a commanding Nerazzurri display

INTER 2-0 SALERNITANA

Goalscorers: 14' Lautaro (I), 58' Barella (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij, 15 Acerbi; 2 Dumfries (12 Bellanova 89'), 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu (36 Darmian 89'), 22 Mkhitaryan (14 Asllani 72'), 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 63'); 9 Dzeko (11 Correa 72'), 10 Lautaro. Substitutes: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 33 D'Ambrosio, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 50 Stankovic, 95 Bastoni. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

SALERNITANA (3-5-2): 33 Sepe; 23 Gyomber, 5 Daniliuc, 98 Pirola (6 Sambia 82'); 87 Candreva, 18 Coulibaly, 20 Kastanos (14 Valencia 60'), 10 Vilhena (8 Bohinen 76'), 30 Mazzocchi (2 Bronn 82'); 99 Piatek (9 Bonazzoli 60'), 29 Dia. Substitutes: 1 Fiorillo, 71 De Matteis, 3 Bradaric, 11 Botheim, 28 Capezzi, 35 Motoc, 39 Iervolino. Coach: Davide Nicola.

Booked: Daniliuc (S) Added time: 1' - 3'

Referee: Sacchi. Assistants: Rossi, Di Gioia. Fourth official: Piccinini. VAR: Marini. VAR assistant: Giallatini.

The Sundays we all enjoy. Inter, a sell-out crowd, warm sunshine, two goals, a clean sheet, three points and plenty of good football on display. It's always great when the Nerazzurri win. And when they do it after dominating and finding the net with a couple of lovely goals, it's even better. Today's game finished in a 2-0 victory over Salernitana, with Lautaro and Barella getting on the scoresheet. The latter produced a complete performance, but the whole team played at an excellent tempo, allowing the Nerazzurri to record their sixth league win this season.

Building on recent performances, continuing to play their game, picking up another good result. After beating Sassuolo and producing a fantastic display against Barcelona, this is what Inter were aiming to do against Salernitana. However, it was never going to be easy against a team with a clear identity that plays proactively and is capable of inflicting damage. A sell-out crowd of 75,472 turned up for the clash, providing for a truly special atmosphere.

Just one change was made to the team that started against Barcelona, with Acerbi coming in for Bastoni. From the very first minute, Inter went on the attack. It took Salernitana ten minutes to settle, after which they looked to play higher up the pitch and make it clear that they didn't just want to defend. Inter needed to watch out for Candreva's runs and the dangerous duo of Dia and Piatek in particular. Nevertheless, the Nerazzurri were alert and ferocious, with Calhanoglu and Barella providing plenty of inspiration.

Inzaghi's men were keeping the ball on the floor, patiently putting moves together and displaying quality. And in the 14th minute, they took the lead. The build-up play was calm and measured and involved 14 passes, at the end of which Lautaro let fly with a strike that bounced in front of Sepe and ended in the net. Inter were full of confidence, but Salernitana weren't about to give up: Kastanos hit the side-netting after 20 minutes, while Piatek tested Onana at the end of the half.

In between those opportunities, it was all Inter, with Barella and Calhanoglu dictating play. Dzeko had two chances to double the Nerazzurri's advantage, while Sepe managed to keep out a header from Skiniar after another well-worked Inter move. On the stroke of half-time, the Salernitana goalkeeper made himself big to stop Lautaro from nodding in.

It had been a really positive first-half showing, but Inzaghi's side still needed to land a knockout blow. Salernitana were still very much in it and began the second half brightly. But when Inter raised the tempo, they became unstoppable. The team were constantly looking to get the ball forward, and it was a wonderful pass over the top from Calhanoglu that led to the second goal of the day. Barella controlled it, cut back inside past Pirola and then fired home with his left foot. It was a brilliant piece of play that killed off the match. Because Inter are a mature side and know how to manage situations and work with focus. Gosens, on as a substitute, was full of running and caused problems for the visitors. In stoppage time, Correa, who had also entered the fray, was denied by Sepe.

A really solid showing, then, as Inter moved up to 18 points. Now, the Nerazzurri have a full week to prepare for their next game against Fiorentina. Let's keep pushing!

LIVE UPDATES

FULL-TIME: INTER 2-0 SALERNITANA

92' Asllani plays in a corner, Sepe tips Correa's header over the bar.

Three minutes added on.

79' Gosens meets Dumfries' cross but can't keep his header down.

68' Daniliuc's free-kick from distance is saved by Onana.

58' GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL! Barella controls Calhanoglu's long pass, cuts the ball back past the defender and fires home from seven yards out!

54' Dia gets his head to Candreva's ball over the top and forces Onana into a fingertip stop!

52' Lautaro heads over from Calhanoglu's free-kick.

46' The second half kicks off. No changes at half-time.

LIVE UPDATES

HALF-TIME: INTER 1-0 SALERNITANA

One minute added on.

45' Sepe makes himself big to stop Lautaro from nodding in from close range

41' Piatek curls one towards the far corner, Onana gets down to save.

37' Skriniar's header from Dimarco's cross is saved by Sepe.

33' A chance for Dzeko but Gyomber makes a last-ditch intervention. From the resulting corner, the Bosnian heads wide.

31' Dimarco's cross-shot goes out of play for a goal-kick.

20' Kastanos hits the side-netting for Salernitana with a powerful left-footed strike.

14' GOOOAAAAALLLLLL! Lautaro's shot from outside the box bounces in front of Sepe and goes in! 1-0 to Inter!

12' Acerbi directs the ball towards the centre of the box from an Inter corner but the visitors manage to clear.

1' We're underway at San Siro!

SERIE A | MATCHDAY 10

Saturday 15 October Empoli 1-0 Monza Torino 0-1 Juventus Atalanta 2-1 Sassuolo

Sunday 16 October Inter 2-0 Salernitana 15:00, Lazio vs. Udinese 15:00, Spezia vs. Cremonese 18:00, Napoli vs. Bologna 20:45, Hellas Verona vs. Milan

Monday 17 October 18:30, Sampdoria vs. Roma 20:45, Lecce vs. Fiorentina