Inter confirmed that their Serie A title defence was alive and well with Saturday’s straight-forward 2-0 win over Verona which took them to within a point of leaders AC Milan.
First-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Edin Dzeko in front of around 60,000 fans at a sun-dappled San Siro made sure that the champions built on their morale-boosting win at Juventus last weekend by moving into second place.
Inter are level on 66 points with Napoli, who host Fiorentina on Sunday, but ahead of Luciano Spalletti’s side in the table thanks to their superior head-to-head record.
Milan meanwhile are at Torino in Sunday’s late match with their two main title rivals breathing down their necks and seven rounds of fixtures to be completed in an enthralling race for the Scudetto.