Inter blow past Como in seven electric minutes with Esposito, Thuram double

It took just seven minutes for Como to run out of answers. Between the 11th and 18th minutes, Internazionale strung together one counterattack after another and had the game wrapped up at the Giuseppe Meazza: 2-0 on a lightning-fast double from Francesco Pio Esposito and Marcus Thuram. Everything after that was a matter of seeing it through, a few nervy moments, and a crossbar that served as a reminder that Como, despite the loss, didn't leave empty-handed when it came to chances created.

The opener came in the 11th minute: Djed Spence sprang a counterattack and set up Esposito, who finished first-time with his left foot from close range to open the scoring. Not even a quarter of an hour had passed before Inter struck again: Thuram, from point-blank range, poked the ball home with his right foot just inside the left post to make it 2-0. In barely seven minutes, the match already had a winner all but decided, and Como had to regroup knowing they were chasing the game from very early on.

Before that scoring burst there had been a warning sign: in the 5th minute, Nico Paz tried his luck from outside the box after a counterattack built with Martin Baturina, but his effort sailed high. It was a hint that Como could also create danger, something they would go on to confirm in the second half.

Chances that didn't go in

Inter had further opportunities to extend the lead before halftime: a Thuram header that drifted wide to the left, a shot from Federico Dimarco that got away on the other flank, and a header from Carlos Augusto that was stopped right under the crossbar following a cross from Hakan Çalhanoglu. Como, for their part, gave notice with a header from Nico Paz that was cleared off the line.

In the second half, the script shifted somewhat. Inter kept testing the Como defense (Dimarco had a shot saved right under the bar and Barella forced a save from outside the box), but Como gradually gained ground as the minutes wore on. Jacobo Ramón tried twice with his head, one of those efforts also stopped right under the crossbar, and the visitors' best moment came in the 82nd minute: a left-footed effort from Nico Paz, off a cross from Marc Oliver Kempf, crashed off the crossbar. It was as close as Como would come to getting back into the match.

The numbers behind the lopsided dominance

The stat sheet makes for an odd read: Como controlled the ball more and completed more passes, but Inter was far more clinical near the opposing box.

Our own xG estimate, calculated from the match's shots, backs up that gap: 2.49 for Internazionale against just 0.249 for Como, a margin that confirms that beyond the visitors' share of possession, the clear-cut chances were almost all home-side ones.

The pre-match projections had pointed to a much closer contest: 43% odds for Internazionale, 30% for Como and 27% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.59 for the home side and 1.3 for the visitors. The final result stayed within that range as far as the winner goes, but Inter's offensive dominance in the opening 20 minutes proved far more decisive than that balanced forecast suggested.

What it means in the standings

With this result, Internazionale holds onto second place in Serie A with 28 points from 11 matches played, 5 points clear of Como, who sit in fifth with 23 points. Both sides have nine and seven wins respectively so far this season, but this afternoon at the Meazza, the story was written by seven minutes of pure home-side speed.