Roma striker Lokelu Lukaku (l) on the Inter pitch, October 29, 2023 in Milan (Isabella BONOTTO)
Inter returned to the lead of the Italian Championship by beating AS Roma (1-0) thanks to Marcus Thuram who got the better of Romelu Lukaku, criticized for his return to San Siro, while Naples and AC Milan were neutralized (2-2).
Under the eyes of his father Lilian, 1998 world champion and 2000 European champion with the Blues through Parma (1996-2001) and Juventus (2001-06), Thuram scored his fourth goal in Serie A under the jersey of Inter, by taking a cross from Federico Dimarco (81st) at close range.
The French international had narrowly missed the opener earlier, but his recovery in the 15th minute was stopped by Roman goalkeeper Rui Patricio and his header then brushed the crossbar (48th).
Inter dominated this meeting, but almost got surprised on one of the rare Roman chances, a header from Bryan Cristante (65th) repelled by Yann Sommer at the cost of a spectacular dive.
Lukaku, replaced numerically by Thuram at the forefront of Inter’s attack, never put himself in a position to score against his former club, where he spent three seasons, including 2022-23.
– “Infamous traitor” –
As they had announced, the Inter ultras gave a noisy welcome to the Belgian international whom they accused of treason after having refused an offer from Inter, only to leave for Chelsea who sent him on loan at Roma.
On the route to the stadium taken by the Roma bus, fans had unfurled the banner “Infamous traitor, Milan is waiting for you” on a bridge.
However, they were unable to distribute whistles, after the Milan police banned them, which did not prevent them from whistling Lukaku for each ball they touched.
“The context of this match, that doesn’t interest me,” Thuram said. “We wanted to take three points, I wanted to help the team, mission accomplished at the end of a great evening in a great atmosphere.”
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“He is a boy who works a lot, who is very attentive to details on and off the field. His integration was facilitated by his mastery of Italian and by the efforts of his teammates,” said his coach Simone Inzaghi
“The team prepared well for the match, without focusing only on Lukaku. I saw a lucid and patient team,” continued the Inter coach.
– Double from Giroud –
Thanks to this eighth success, Inter regained the lead in the standings with 25 points and is two points ahead of Juve (23 pts), winner 1-0 the day before Hellas Verona (16th).
The leader also saw two of his direct rivals for the title, Naples and AC Milan, lose points after an exciting draw (2-2).
Milan, outclassed by PSG (3-0) in the Champions League, dominated the first period, with a double from Olivier Giroud, silent since the 3rd day.
The exit of the injured Christian Pulisic at the break redistributed the cards and Naples took the opportunity to score two spectacular goals by Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori.
The reigning champion remains 4th, but is now seven lengths behind the leader. AC Milan is 3rd, three points behind its great rival.
“We should have scored more during this first period which we dominated, it’s a real shame to come away with just one point,” said Stefano Pioli, AC Milan coach.
Earlier in the day, promoted Cagliari scored its first victory by overthrowing Frosinone 4-3, with two goals in added time, after being down 3-0.
The Sardinian team doubled its points total in 90 minutes (6 pts, 19th) and gave up last place (4 pts) to Salernitana, beaten 1-0 by Genoa on Friday.
jr/bvo
2023-10-29 22:40:01
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