France forward Marcus Thuram stole the spotlight with a brilliant hat trick propelling Inter Milan to a narrow yet well-deserved victory over Torino at the San Siro. Thuram kicked off the scoring with two headers from precise crosses by Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi before sealing his performance with a third goal shortly after the hour mark.
This win positions Inter in a precarious spot as they could be overtaken by Juventus and AC Milan, who both play on Sunday.
Thuram now shares the top of Serie A’s scoring charts with seven goals, matching Mateo Retegui, who also impressed earlier in the day with a hat trick in Atalanta’s 5-1 rout of Genoa. “It’s been a few matches since I last scored, but the team’s success is what matters most,” Thuram stated to Sky. “I’m not concerned about being the top scorer; what counts is that Inter wins.”
Following a commanding performance against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, Simone Inzaghi’s side is back to near full strength marking their third consecutive victory in all competitions since their setback in the Milan derby last month.
Thuram was central to Inter’s attacking fluidity, though he faced a rough challenge from Guillermo Maripan that left Torino a man down in the 20th minute. Just five minutes later, Thuram took advantage of the situation, scoring his first goal, and he added another in the 35th minute.
Torino responded quickly with a goal from Duvan Zapata, who found the net after a defensive miscue from Yann Bisseck. However, Thuram quickly reasserted Inter’s two-goal lead, pouncing on a mistake by goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic following a header from Lautaro Martinez.
Despite their recent dominance, Inter’s defense showed vulnerabilities reminiscent of their early-season form, and they allowed Torino to claw back with a late penalty, converted by Nikola Vlasic after Hakan Calhanoglu was penalized for a foul on Adam Masina.
Nevertheless, Inter held firm to secure the victory, leaving them hot on Napoli’s heels as players prepared for international duty. Inzaghi expressed pride in his team’s resilience: “Let’s appreciate that we’ve won three matches in a week after that derby loss. I have no complaints; we deserved every bit of our success.”
