Marcus Thuram made sure that Inter Milan got revenge on Romelu Lukaku with the only goal in Sunday’s win over Roma, which maintained his team’s place at the summit of Serie A.
Inter lead fierce rivals Juventus by two points after Thuram slammed home Federico Dimarco’s low cross with nine minutes remaining at a pulsating, shrieking San Siro where his World Cup-winning father Lilian was watching on.
France forward Thuram was brought in to replace Lukaku who enraged fans, his old teammates and the club hierarchy by the way he eyed moves away to AC Milan and Juve, whilst Inter tried to secure a permanent deal from Chelsea in the summer.
The 26-year-old is repaying the faith Simone Inzaghi has shown in him with five goals in all competitions alongside Lukaku’s former strike partner Lautaro Martinez.
Lukaku was given the promised hostile welcome from over 70,000 fans who consider him a traitor, with thousands of whistles making their way into the stadium despite police banning their distribution by Inter’s hardcore supporters.
Even Martinez barely looked at him as the two teams shook hands pre-match and ferocious chants calling Lukaku a “shit of a man” and a “son of a bitch” rang around the ground as the former Inter idol stood over the ball waiting for kick-off.
Missing a host of starters, Roma tried but failed to hold off an Inter team pushed on by a baying crowd and sit eighth on 14 points after barely creating anything all evening.
Earlier Leonardo Pavoletti struck twice in stoppage time to fire Cagliari to their first win of the Serie A season on Sunday, a stunning comeback from three goals down to beat Frosinone 4-3.
Veteran forward Pavoletti dragged promoted Cagliari off the bottom of the table with a 94th minute header and a tap-in two minutes later, his first goals of the season which completed an incredible win in Sardinia.
“It’s wonderful, a win which we really fought for. And with a brace from me which I probably haven’t done for 20 years!” Pavoletti, who last hit double figures in Serie A in 2019, told DAZN.
Claudio Ranieri’s side, who also missed a first half penalty and struck the woodwork, remain in the bottom three, but are a point behind Empoli who sit just above the drop zone on seven points.
