Serie A, Inter 3-1 Cremonese: Nerazzurri cruise to easy victory as Martinez makes sure

The
hosts
were
in
front
early
on
when
Correa
converted
a
rebound
from
a
parried
Edin
Dzeko
shot,
before
a
superb
strike
from
Barella
made
it
2-0
before
half-time.

Simone
Inzaghi’s
hosts
took
their
foot
off
the
gas
after
the
interval,
but
they
added
a
third
through
substitute
Martinez
before
David
Okereke
netted
a
late
consolation.

Results
|

Fixtures

The
three
points
mean
Inter
bounce
back
from
Friday’s
3-1
defeat
to
Lazio
as
they
move
up
to
second,
just
one
point
behind
leaders
Roma.
Cremonese
are
still
yet
to
pick
up
a
point
this
season,
kept
off
the
bottom
by
Monza
on
goal
difference.

The
hosts
were
ahead
after
12
minutes
when
visiting
goalkeeper
Ionut
Radu,
on
loan
from
Inter,
palmed
a
powerful
Dzeko
shot
straight
into
the
path
of
Correa,
who
finished
with
ease.

Inter
dominated
the
first
half,
and
they
doubled
their
lead
shortly
before
the
break
with
a
wonderful
volley
from
Barella,
after
a
perfectly
weighted
cross
from
Hakan
Calhanoglu
picked
him
out
on
the
edge
of
the
box.

After
the
interval,
the
visitors
started
to
have
more
of
the
ball
and
a
vicious
Luca
Zanimacchia
effort
flew
just
over
Samir
Handanovic’s
crossbar.

Dzeko
nearly
added
a
third
for
Inter
when
a
brilliant
Denzel
Dumfries
flick-on
put
the
striker
in
on
goal,
but
Radu
made
an
excellent
stop
from
the
close-range
shot.

Despite
Cremonese’s
improved
second-half
performance,
Martinez
secured
the
three
points
with
an
excellent
finish
into
the
bottom
corner
after
Barella
played
him
in.

The
visitors
grabbed
their
reply
in
the
dying
seconds,
with
a
delightful
curling
effort
from
Okereke
denying
Inter
a
clean
sheet.

What
does
it
mean?
Inter
move
above
Milan

With
the
three
points
the
Nerazzurri
move
above
bitter
rivals
Milan,
who
they
face
next.
It
was
a
dominant
display
from
Inter
against
Cremonese,
as
they
attempted
18
shots
to
the
visitors’
11.
The
hosts
also
won
60.3
per
cent
of
their
duels,
while
completing
86.8
per
cent
of
their
passes.

Brilliant
Barella

The
25-year-old’s
excellent
performance
was
underpinned
by
his
stunning
strike
to
make
it
2-0
and
his
assist
for
Martinez’s
goal.
He
made
five
key
passes
as
he
completed
43
of
the
49
passes
he
attempted
(87.8
per
cent).
The
midfielder
also
won
five
of
his
seven
duels
while
regaining
possession
for
his
side
on
a
team-high
eight
occasions.

Off-night
for
Dzeko

While
Dzeko
played
a
part
in
the
first
goal,
any
striker
loves
to
get
on
the
scoresheet
and
the
former
Manchester
City
forward
failed
to
do
that
despite
his
six
goal
attempts.
Only
two
of
these
efforts
were
on
target,
and
he
was
caught
offside
more
than
any
of
his
Inter
team-mates
while
winning
just
six
of
13
(46.2
per
cent)
duels.

What’s
next?

Next
up
for
Inter
is
a
derby
at
San
Siro
against
champions
Milan
on
Saturday
(September
3).
Cremonese
will
host
Sassuolo
the
following
day.