INTER STATS | Lukaku wastes no time, Dumfries from the bench and Inter on matchday one

MILAN - The 2022/23 season began with a win for Inter, who got the better of Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare. It was a match that seemed to go on forever, with Lukaku opening the scoring early on and Dumfries bagging the winner at the death: exactly 92 minutes and 40 seconds separated the Nerazzurri’s two goals.

A LIGHTNING-QUICK DEBUT GOAL FOR LUKAKU

Romelu Lukaku is back: the Belgian striker only needed 82 seconds to return to the scoresheet for Inter. With 1 minute and 22 seconds on the clock, Big Rom’s goal is the fastest Inter have netted in the first match of a Serie A season in the last 60 years. Furthermore, in general, it’s the quickest scored by a Serie A side on the opening day of a campaign since 2011/12, when Dusan Basta found the net for Udinese after 1 minute and 22 seconds. This goal came against Lecce, too.

A debut goal: this isn’t anything new for Romelu, who also bagged on his very first official outing for Inter in 2019/20. This also came on matchday one against Lecce, albeit at San Siro. Thanks to his finish at the Via del Mare, Lukaku has found the net on the opening day in Serie A in each of his three seasons at Inter.

POSITIVE START

Following their victory against Lecce, Inter have now won four consecutive opening-day fixtures in the league for the first time since their five-game streak between 1993 and 1997. Since 2019/20, the Nerazzurri have started every league campaign with a win.

THE MATCH-WINNER

Denzel Dumfries scored the winning goal in the 95th minute against Lecce. It came after the Dutchman had previously hit the post and been involved in several attacking moves. Dumfries has now bagged six goals in Serie A, with his finish at the Via del Mare being the first time he’s netted as a substitute. The Nerazzurri No.2 came on in the 68th minute.