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After one round of matches in the 2021-22 Serie A campaign, the summit of the league table looks exactly like it was at the end of last season.
Inter Milan sit at the top of the table following a huge victory over Genoa on Saturday. The Nerazzurri are closely followed by Lazio, AS Roma and Napoli, who equally won their opening matches.
While it is still early days, the verve with which Simone Inzaghi’s side has started the season paints a good picture of their ambitions.
Having won Serie A last season, Inter Milan face an uphill task to defend their title, especially after losing some key first-team players in the summer.
Inter Milan make light work of Genoa
Despite everything, though, Inzaghi’s side made an ideal start to the season by putting four goals past Genoa in their first match.
It was a dominant performance, punctuated by clinical finishing at the other end. Milan Skriniar set the ball rolling with the opening goal inside the first six minutes.
Summer signing Hakan Calhanoglu then made it 2-0 in the 14th minute with a sublime effort from outside the box to give Inter Milan a deserved cushion.
The Nerazzurri added two more goals in the second half as Arturo Vidal and fellow new recruit Edin Dzeko scored to seal a comfortable 4-0 win. In truth, the result could have been worse for Genoa, who were on the back foot for 90 minutes.
New signings make up for mass exodus
Not many expect Inter Milan to perform as well as they did last season. Top-scorer Romelu Lukaku and right-back Achraf Hakimi have since departed, while Christian Eriksen is still in Denmark receiving treatment.
However, the club has made some very good signings to replace the departed players. Denzel Dumfries, Dzeko and Calhanoglu are like-for-like signings and will certainly give the team a spark
"We will do everything to ensure that things go well this season. It is a season where there will be difficulties but I am confident," Inter manager Inzaghi said ahead of the 4-0 win over Genoa, as quoted by Reuters.
"We knew we would have problems, we had to sell Hakimi, we will not have Eriksen and then the unexpected sale of Lukaku came. But the boys have worked hard and we are determined to do our best to defend the Scudetto we have on our chest."
Inter Milan’s new signings have so far ensured that Lukaku and co. are not missed, but it remains to be seen if they can keep it up for the rest of the season.
