Inter welcomed Parma to San Siro on Friday and ground out a 3-1 victory.
Scorers: Dimarco 40′, Barella 53′, Thuram 66′; Darmian 81′ (OG)
By the full-time whistle in Milan, Inter’s big-name stars had delivered, but the hosts were truly made to work for their three points.
Inter dominated the match against Parma, with 18 shots to only four and 58% possession, but the scoreline does not accurately reflect the flow of the match.
In the first half, Lautaro MartÃnez thought he earned a penalty, but VAR overturned the decision as the contact was ruled outside the box before Denzel Dumfries hit the woodwork.
It wasn’t until ex-Parma player Federico Dimarco used exquisite close-control skills in the box that Inter broke the deadlock just before the break.
The one-goal game was still nervy inside a rocking San Siro, but Parma’s woeful attack failed to muster more than one shot on target.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan earned his second assist of the night when he found Nicolo Barella, who surged into the box, sat down a defender, and rolled home.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside, leaving both clubs holding their breath. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was allowed.
The third strike arrived off a corner when Marcus Thuram was left unmarked at the back post and volleyed home.
Parma never stopped trying, though. And a late run from Dennis Man caused chaos at the back before Matteo Darmian poked the ball into his own net to erase a clean sheet.
A third VAR encounter then denied Inter a second potential penalty, initially created by MartÃnez. But they had to settle for the two-goal cushion.
The result means Inter are temporarily tied for second and one point off leaders Napoli. Parma, meanwhile, are 12th.
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