With these two teams level on points prior to kick-off, both could make a real statement as they continue to chase league-leaders Atalanta.
It was the hosts who were more dangerous during the opening stages, as Nuno Tavares had a shot saved by Yann Sommer early on before Tijjani Noslin wasted a fantastic opportunity midway through the half, volleying Nicolo Rovella’s cross into the ground and over the bar from around eight yards out.
The Nerazzurri, while not under intense pressure, were second best in the opening half-hour, yet they sprung into life shortly afterwards, netting twice in the space of four minutes before the break to seize control.
Their opener came in confusing circumstances, as Denzel Dumfries’ header from Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner was saved by Ivan Provedel and the rebound was turned home by ex-Lazio man Stefan de Vrij, the goal was ruled out for offside on Lautaro Martinez.
However, while the Argentine was clearly off when he poked the ball off Samuel Gigot’s head, the Aquilotti centre-back had handled the ball from Dumfries’ original effort.
Following a visit to the pitchside monitor, referee Daniel Chiffi pointed to the spot, and with his first spot-kick since his recent missed effort against Napoli, Calhanoglu made no mistake.
Now with the bit between their teeth, they doubled their lead on the brink of half-time, albeit in more convincing fashion as Federico Dimarco hammered Dumfries’ perfectly weighted chipped pass beyond Provedel.
Within minutes of the restart, the match was effectively ended as a contest thanks to a moment of magic from Nicolo Barella, who fired into the top corner from 30 yards to leave Provedel flapping at thin air.
By now, Simone Inzaghi’s men were fully enjoying themselves, and they soon extended their advantage further when Dumfries directed a bullet header into the corner from Alessandro Bastoni’s diagonal pass.
Even with more than 35 minutes left, the points were secure, allowing Inter to take their foot off the gas and conserve energy.
Unsurprisingly, they saw out the victory with ease and even added extra gloss to the scoreline as Carlos Augusto controlled brilliantly before slotting into the corner before Marcus Thuram added a sixth at the death.
As a result, Inter move back to within three points of Atalanta with a game in hand, while this triumph is made all the more memorable by the fact Lazio were previously unbeaten at home in Serie A this term and had won nine of their past 10 competitive matches on their own turf (D1).
With form like that, Marco Baroni will perhaps not dwell too much on this defeat and instead put it down simply to a bad night at the office.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Denzel Dumfries (Inter)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
