Marcus Thuram’s hat-trick led Inter Milan to a thrilling 3-2 victory over 10-man Torino on Saturday, securing second place in Serie A and narrowing the gap to league leaders Napoli to just two points. The French forward opened the scoring with a header from a cross by Alessandro Bastoni, followed by another headed goal from Francesco Acerbi’s delivery. He completed his hat-trick in the 60th minute, finishing off a well-deserved win at San Siro.
Inter’s position is precarious, as both Juventus, who are set to host Cagliari, and AC Milan, facing Fiorentina in the weekend’s final match before the international break, could potentially overtake them.
Thuram currently tops the scoring charts in Italy’s Serie A, boasting seven goals, tied with Mateo Retegui. Retegui also made headlines on Saturday with a hat-trick in Atalanta’s impressive 5-1 victory over Genoa.
“It’s been a few matches since I last scored but it was more important that the team won tonight,” said Thuram to Sky.
“Being top scorer doesn’t interest me, the only thing that counts is that Inter win matches.”
Back to near full strength after their second string convincingly defeated Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Tuesday, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter secured their third consecutive win in all competitions since losing the Milan derby last month.
Thuram played a crucial role in Inter’s attacking efforts, although he suffered from a brutal tackle by Guillermo Maripan in the 20th minute that left Torino a man down. Thankfully, the 27-year-old avoided serious injury and struck back five minutes later with his first of two nearly identical headers, followed by another in the 35th minute.
Duvan Zapata pulled one back for sixth-placed Torino just seconds later, taking advantage of poor defending from Yann Bisseck. However, Thuram quickly restored Inter’s two-goal lead by capitalizing on goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s inability to hold onto Lautaro Martinez’s header.
Inter Milan have shown less defensive solidity compared to their title-winning campaign last season. Hakan Calhanoglu provided Torino with a glimmer of hope in the final five minutes by fouling Adam Masina, which resulted in a penalty. Nikola Vlasic stepped up to convert the spot-kick, reducing the deficit.
However Inter held out for a win which will leave them hot on Napoli’s trail as their players head off to their respective national teams.
“Let’s focus on the fact that the team won three matches in a week after losing the derby,” said Inzaghi to Sky.
“I can’t say anything to the players as we deserved to win all of them.”
Retegui on Fire
Mateo Retegui delivered a stunning performance against his former club Genoa, netting a hat-trick at the Gewiss Stadium and leading Atalanta to a commanding 5-1 victory, which propelled them up to ninth place with 10 points.
In addition to Retegui’s goals, Ederson and Marten de Roon also found the back of the net with spectacular strikes. Although Genoa managed a late consolation goal through Jeff Ekhator, they now find themselves in the relegation zone, trailing Lecce on goal difference.
Since joining Atalanta this summer following Gianluca Scamacca’s serious knee injury, the Argentina-born Retegui has quickly formed a strong partnership with teammates Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere. The 25-year-old also played a key role in setting up Ederson’s strike, assisting with a pinpoint pass that led to Atalanta’s third goal.
“I’m really happy, but not for myself, for the team, who played really well,” Retegui told DAZN.
“I can only thank everyone for how I’ve been treated over these first few months, I’m really happy.”
Retegui opened the scoring in the 24th minute, sliding in to convert Ademola Lookman’s low cross. He doubled the lead just five minutes after the break, reacting swiftly to pounce on the rebound after Ederson’s shot was saved by Pierluigi Gollini.
The forward completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 74th minute after Alessandro Vogliacco was penalized for handball, making amends for a missed penalty that had cost Atalanta a win against Arsenal in their Champions League opener last month.
Saturday’s impressive victory followed another strong performance earlier in the week, when Atalanta secured a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen in Europe’s premier club competition.
