Simone Inzaghi acknowledges Inter substitutions made the difference for Inter to break down Torino and hopes Lautaro Martinez can become his second player to set the Serie A scoring record.
The Nerazzurri took almost an hour to break the Granata down and thanked Yann Sommer for a couple of saves before that, but once Marcus Thuram broke the deadlock on an assist from substitute Denzel Dumfries, it was plain sailing.
Lautaro Martinez nodded in from a flicked on corner and in stoppages Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty to complete the 3-0 rout.
It means Inter have not conceded a single goal in their four Serie A away fixtures this season and recapture top spot ahead of Milan–Juventus on Sunday evening.
“The lads did really well, because meeting Torino after the break for international duty with just one training session was not the easiest thing,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
“We had a good start, then lowered the intensity and lost our shape a little against a tough opponent. It was a match I was really concerned about, but I thank the players for dealing with it in the best way.
“As is often the case, games change in the final half-hour. With five substitutions, we coaches have to make the most of those situations. Torino maintained great intensity for an hour.”
There was a worrying moment when it was still goalless, as Torino saw Perr Schuurs stretchered off with a suspected anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Nicolò Barella was booked for that challenge and when substituted walked over to the Toro bench to apologise to coach Ivan Juric.
“Clearly, it’s sad for Schuurs, who is a very talented player. Unfortunately, these things can happen. Nicolò probably did not deserve a yellow card, he was having a good game and clearly I had to change either him or Mkhitaryan, so the booking tipped me in his direction.”
Thuram has made quite the impact on Serie A in his debut season with three goals and seven assists in nine games.
“He arrived in the best way in mid-July, he works hard, is eager to learn and last season played as a centre-forward in a different system, so it is not an easy adjustment. He is doing very well.”
Lautaro Martinez is having an extraordinary start to the campaign with 11 goals in nine Serie A matches, so is on track to beat the record of 36 goals in a single season.
That was set by Gonzalo Higuain for Napoli in 2015-16 and Ciro Immobile in Inzaghi’s Lazio in 2019-20.
“What comes to mind is Ciro’s record, as he achieved it with me. Lauti only returned a day and a half ago from South America, he is in great shape and the team gives him all the support he needs too.”
Inzaghi is going to have the day off tomorrow, where he will sit down in front of the television to see Milan and Juventus go head-to-head.
“We can watch the game calmly, as we have the points, so we will watch two great teams face off.”
There is Inter-Roma next weekend in Serie A and Romelu Lukaku is going to receive a fiery welcome.
“Right now I am thinking about this game and the Champions League with RB Salzburg, as that is a very important match against a young, dangerous side.”