Inter Milan surged to the top of Serie A on Saturday thanks to three goals in the first half an hour to outclass Parma 3-0 at the San Siro.
The three-week international break has not diminished the momentum of the reigning Italian champions.
Even without captain Lautaro Martinez, who was rested until the hour mark after his return from Argentina and Lionel Messi's international farewell match, the titleholders were never threatened.
Three goals and three points 🙌 https://t.co/KizJaSvOKR
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) October 10, 2026
Capitalising on a poor clearance by Parma's goalkeeper, Petar Sucic opened the scoring in the 13th minute.
Five minutes later, Hakan Calhanoglu doubled the lead from the penalty spot.
Overlooked for the France squad for the Nations League games, Marcus Thuram reminded Zinedine Zidane of his quality by making it 3-0 after 31 minutes with his third goal of the campaign.
"Of course I would have liked to have been selected, but you have to respect this decision," Thuram said.
"I worked really hard with the coaches and players who were there during the international break. The important thing was to play well in the first match back," he added.
Inter have 16 points from six games and move three points ahead of Roma and Lazio, who both play on Sunday, against Como and newly-promoted Monza respectively.
New Parma coach Alberto Gilardino got off to a losing start as his team never got into the game and they sit 17th with four points.
Napoli eased past newly promoted Frosinone 3-0 in Saturday's late game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as under-pressure coach Massimiliano Allegri collected just his third league win of the season.
The opener came when former Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund was fouled as he surged towards goal and Kevin De Bruyne converted the penalty.
Dutch forward Noa Lang slotted in the second on 29 minutes after Hojlund's effort was saved and De Bruyne added his second to complete the job in second-half stoppage time.
Allegri brought on Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay in the second period for his first appearance since undergoing heart surgery, in a welcome return for the player who has been Napoli's powerhouse in the last two seasons.
Napoli move up to eighth, a point behind AC Milan who visit Sassuolo on Sunday.
Fiorentina meanwhile returned to the relegation places after a 2–1 defeat to Genoa, who move out of the drop zone thanks to their first win of the season.