Four-star Inter Milan batter Belgrade in one-sided Champions League clash

Inter Milan eased to a dominant 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Hakan Calhanoglu brilliantly gave Inter a half-time lead, with Marko Arnautovic and Denzel Dumfries having goals disallowed.

Arnautovic and Mehdi Taremi each scored their first goals for Inter in the second half, either side of one from Lautaro Martinez.

Inter had drawn their opener against Manchester City while their opponents lost 2-1 to Benfica.

Inter began with captain Martinez on the bench, with Taremi and Arnautovic leading the line and Stefan de Vrij wearing the armband.

Dumfries’ early cross forced an unconventional punch from Red Star keeper Omri Glazer and Arnautovic was denied by the offside flag after tucking away Calhanoglu’s intelligent free-kick.

The Turkey international made the 11th-minute breakthrough from another free-kick, superbly swung into the far top corner after Timi Elsnik foolishly lost possession 25 yards out and hauled down Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Inter’s suffocating press was making life constantly difficult for the visitors and after Benjamin Pavard won the ball on halfway, Nasser Djiga was forced into a last-ditch tackle on Taremi.

Andrija Maksimovic fired over at the other end after Piotr Zielinski gifted him the ball but it was a brief respite, with Inter soon having a second goal disallowed for offside as Dumfries headed in from close range.

Glazer saved after Calhanoglu and Arnautovic played in Mkhitaryan, while 17-year-old Maksimovic flashed a shot wide from Elsnik’s reverse pass.

Pavard woke up his keeper Yann Sommer by ballooning a backpass to him several yards outside the area – the Swiss killed the ball with one touch and jinked past forward Cherif Ndiaye to start a counter.

Mkhitaryan wasted a close-range chance after Taremi pinched possession and Red Star had two late chances to punish him before half-time, Sommer bravely saving Silas’ deflected close-range effort and Elsnik poking wide.

De Vrij was booked for catching Ndiaye with his arm as Red Star made a better start to the second half.

Zielinski’s cross was just too far ahead of the stretching Mkhitaryan but Arnautovic doubled Inter’s lead just before the hour. Taremi dispossessed former AC Milan man Rade Krunic and unselfishly squared for the Austrian to sidefoot home.

A well-worked Inter chance on the counter unfortunately fell to full-back Carlos Augusto, who shot straight at Glazer, before Martinez replaced Arnautovic as part of a triple substitution – and was soon on the scoresheet after the selfless Taremi mugged Uros Spajic and laid on the chance.

Taremi’s endeavour was rewarded with a penalty after Vanja Drkusic clumsily took down Martinez and, after a long delay due to the VAR communication link breaking down, the Iran international casually clipped home.