Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v Atalanta - San Siro, Milan, Italy - August 30, 2024 Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram in action with Atalanta's Mateo Retegui REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -A Marcus Thuram double helped Inter Milan to an emphatic 4-0 win over Atalanta on Friday, the second straight Serie A home win for the defending champions.
Inter, coming off a draw at Genoa and a 2-0 win over Lecce, scored twice in the opening stages of each half to prevail and provisionally move top of the standings with seven points.
The hosts opened the scoring just three minutes in when Thuram's low cross deflected off Atalanta's Berat Djimsiti into his own net, before Nicolo Barella doubled the lead with a stunning volley from the edge of the box seven minutes later.
"It is only week 3, this is not a signal to anyone. We tried to put in a good performance against a very difficult opponent, so we are very happy," Thuram, named man-of-the-match, told DAZN.
"'Bare' only scores spectacular goals! He does it in training all the time and I'm really happy for him," the France international added about Barella
Thuram scored twice in similar fashion after the break, taking advantage of loose balls from the visitors' poor defence to fire home from close range in the 47th and 56th minutes and seal the rout.
"This game might've seemed easy from the outside, but there are always risks and the intensity was really high." Barella said.
Inter visit Monza after the international break, while Atalanta will be looking to bounce back when they host Fiorentina.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
