Inter Milan brush aside Parma to extend unbeaten run to 13 matches

Federico Dimarco, Nicolo Barella and Marcus Thuram were on the scoresheet as Inter Milan claimed a 3-1 win over Parma.

Inter started the night four points off the pace but have not lost since the Milan derby in September and they stretched their unbeaten run to 13 matches across all competitions with a comfortable victory.

A dominant Inter side bossed the first half but had to wait till the 40th minute to make the breakthrough courtesy of Dimarco, which relieved the growing frustration inside San Siro.

Inter flexed their muscles after the break and Barella quickly doubled their lead before Thuram put the final nail in the coffin in the 66th minute. Matteo Darmian’s late own goal saw Parma pull one back but proved to be the only blot in Inter’s copybook on a commanding night.

Inter thought they had been awarded a penalty in the seventh minute after Mandela Keita appeared to bring Lautaro Martinez inside the area, but a VAR check showed the foul to be outside the box.

Simone Inzaghi’s side continued to press and hit the woodwork through Denzel Dumfries’ curling effort after a quarter of an hour.

Martinez then had the ball in the back of the net but the assistant referee’s flag cut celebrations short as Thuram was ruled offside in the build up.

Thuram and Henrick Mkhitaryan both saw powerful efforts go wide and it seemed only a matter of time before Inter took the lead, with Mkhitaryan bringing Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki into action for the first time to deny a certain opener.

However, Parma could not hold on until the interval as Inter finally got the goal they had been chasing when Mkhitaryan pulled the ball back from the byline into the path of Dimarco who took a touch before rolling his shot past Suzuki.

No doubt buoyed by that goal, the home side made it 2-0 eight minutes into the second half largely thanks to a superb Mkhitaryan pass.

The former Manchester United and Arsenal midfielder combined well with Thuram and and Dimarco before sending a defence-splitting high ball towards Barella, who drove into the box and caressed into the bottom corner from close range.

Inter went in search of a third goal and got one midway through the second period. Mkhitaryan’s outswinging corner was headed on by Yann Bisseck and Thuram was waiting at the back post to slot into a gaping goal.

Parma got themselves on the scoreboard in the 81st minute as Hernani’s run caused problems and his through-ball towards Dennis Man was put into his own net by Darmian.

Inter were denied another penalty late on by VAR after Antoine Hainaut looked to bring down Martinez inside the box but referee Rosario Abisso reversed his decision.

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