Inter Milan sent a thunderous warning shot just days before their Coppa Italia final showdown, dismantling Lazio 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in a Serie A clash that felt more like a title fight than a league fixture.
With the Coppa Italia final looming, both managers opted for rotation, but it was Inter who came out swinging. Maurizio Sarri shuffled his Lazio deck, benching Nuno Tavares, Gustav Isaksen, and Kenneth Taylor while dealing with the absence of injured Mattia Zaccagni. Tijjani Noslin led the line, supported by Matteo Cancellieri and veteran Pedro, with Nicolo Rovella anchoring a midfield trio alongside Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Toma Basic.
Across the pitch, Cristian Chivu's Inter trotted out a familiar 3-5-2 formation, but kept the powder keg of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram ready to explode. Peta Sucic pulled the strings as the regista between Nicolo Rovella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Andy Diouf and Carlos Agusto provided width as wing-backs. Yann Bisseck, Francesco Acerbi, and Alessandro Bastoni formed a steely three-man defense.
From the first whistle, Inter played like a team possessed. It took just six minutes for the champions to draw first blood. Bisseck's long throw found Thuram, who outjumped Rovella and Pellegrini to nod the ball into Martinez's path. The Argentine captain escaped his markers and smashed a half-volley past the helpless Motta.
The Nerazzurri nearly doubled their lead moments later when Thuram released Diouf down the right, but Motta denied the wing-back, and Thuram couldn't convert the rebound. Lazio limped toward halftime hoping to regroup, but Inter had other plans.
In the 39th minute, Inter produced a moment of pure quality. Martinez stormed into the box, drawing a crowd of defenders including Dele-Bashiru, who abandoned Sucic in the process. The Argentine captain coolly cut the ball back to his Croatian teammate, who unleashed a scorching drive from outside the box that left Motta rooted to the spot.
The second half was more of the same dominance, as Inter picked up right where they left off, suffocating Lazio and leaving no doubt about who enters the Coppa Italia final as the team to beat.