Coming into the game as the in-form team in Italy, Inter were looking to consolidate their place at the top of the Serie A standings here in Parma. The visitors were relentless in the early stages as Yann Aurel Bisseck saw an effort brilliantly saved before Lautaro Martínez headed narrowly over the bar from Federico Dimarco’s cross.
Inter continued to probe for the opener as the first half went on, and on each occasion, the Nerazzurri got closer, with Pio Esposito’s scissoring a volley onto the crossbar. And the one-way pressure finally paid off in the 42nd minute, despite a lengthy VAR check for offside.
The move began with Dimarco crossing the ball to Esposito, who controlled well before laying off for the wing-back to apply a neat finish at the near post, edging Inter ahead at the break.
Playing in seriously foggy conditions in the Ennio Tardini Stadium, Inter immediately went on the attack following the restart, but a stubborn Parma defence restricted the away side to half-chances.
Carlos Cuesta turned to his bench on the hour mark in an attempt to affect the contest following 60 minutes of being on the back foot. However, Cristian Chivu’s men continued to pose a threat, as Petar Sucic was played in by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, only for the Croatian international to struggle to get the ball out of his feet before skewing wide.
Ange-Yoan Bonny thought he’d added gloss to the scoreline deep into stoppage time, firing home from inside the box, only for VAR to intervene for a handball.
Remarkably, Marcus Thuram did net moments later to seal all three points and extend Inter’s lead at the top of the Serie A standings to four points before city rivals AC Milan face Genoa tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Parma remain five points clear of the relegation places but have now lost three of their last four league games at home.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Inter)
