PARMA: Inter Milan got their Serie A title defence up and running on Saturday with a straightforward 2-0 home win over Lecce, while rivals AC Milan crashed to a 2-1 defeat at promoted Parma.

Matteo Darmian nodded Inter ahead in the fifth minute before Hakan Calhanoglu made sure that the majority of the around 70,000 fans at the San Siro went home happy with his 70th-minute penalty.

Simone Inzaghi’s team are level with three other teams on four points, including Parma and Genoa who were 1-0 winners at Monza, after their first two matches of the new campaign.

“Winning is hard but staying up there is even harder. We had to bounce back after drawing at Genoa and we managed to do that,” said Darmian to Sky Sports. “Our secret is who we have in the squad. At Inter there is a lot of competition and that internal competition is good for everyone.”

Inter were far from their thrilling best but didn’t need to be against sorry Lecce who are pointless, have conceded six and are yet to score after two fiendish opening fixtures against the champions and Atalanta.

Without injured captain and star striker Lautaro Martinez, Mehdi Taremi made his first start for Inter since signing last month after being released by Porto.

The Iran forward had a hand in Darmian’s opener, getting a slight touch on a cross and diverting the ball to the Italy defender who made no mistake with an angled header.

Marcus Thuram earned Calhanoglu the chance to seal the points from the spot when as he challenged for a cross Kialonda Gaspar bundled over the France forward and Turkey midfielder Calhanoglu confidently stroked home.

Meanwhile, Parma stunned Milan with an early opener through Dennis Man who struck with his first touch after 83 seconds.

Christian Pulisic equalised for Milan in the 66th minute, after Rafael Leao fed a low pass into the path of the American midfielder who finished from close range, but substitute Matteo Cancellieri restored Parma’s lead 11 minutes later.

Milan, who scored two last-gasp goals to secure a 2-2 draw in their season opener against Torino, are 16th on one point in the standings.

Parma, who sealed promotion to the Italian top flight after finishing top of Serie B last season, provisionally lead the table on four points.

The home team started fast against their illustrious opponents and Man netted his second goal of the season following a pass by Emanuele Valeri.

Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, meanwhile, did well to deny Noah Okafor and Strahinja Pavlovic in the visitors’ few first-half attempts.

Milan showed greater determination following halftime and Tijjani Reijnders struck the bar before Suzuki denied Pulisic.

Pulisic equalised for Milan, only for Cancellieri to put Parma back in front with a low shot 13 minutes from time, after Pontus Almqvist sped down the left flank to tee him up.

The Rossoneri were unbeaten in their eight previous meetings with Parma, a run dating back more than 10 years.

“I can’t hide that it’s my responsibility, but it seems clear to me that we have a problem with defending and being aggressive,” Milan coach Paulo Fonseca told DAZN. “We had a good pre-season, but the truth is that this is where we are.”

Parma coach Fabio Pecchia celebrated his 51st birthday with a brilliant win which put his team among the table toppers.

“We took on Milan with personality and always had in our heads the idea that we could win,” Pecchia told reporters. “I want to thank the boys because they gave me a great present today.”

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024