With these two teams level on points before kick-off, both can make a real statement as they continue to chase leaders Atalanta.
It was the hosts who were more dangerous in the opening stages as Nuno Tavares had an early shot saved by Yann Sommer before Tijjani Noslin squandered a fantastic chance midway through the half with Nicolo Rovella's cross from around the ground into the ground and over the crossbar to shoot. eight meters out.
Although not under much pressure, the Nerazzurri were second best in the opening half-hour, but they came alive shortly afterwards, scoring twice in the space of four minutes before half-time 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 saved by ex-Lazio man Stefan de Vrij, the goal disallowed for offside on Lautaro Martinez .
Although the Argentine was clearly off the field when he poked the ball off Samuel Gigot's head, Aquilotti's centre-back had handled the ball from Dumfries' original effort.
After a visit to the pitch monitor, referee Daniel Chiffi pointed to the spot, and with his first penalty since his recent missed attempt against Napoli, Calhanoglu made no mistake.
With the bit between their teeth, they doubled their lead on the brink of half-time, albeit more convincingly when Federico Dimarco hammered Dumfries' perfectly weighted pass past 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 send Provedel fluttering into thin air.
Simone Inzaghi's men were having their way by now, and they soon extended their lead when Dumfries fired a shot into the corner after a diagonal pass from Alessandro Bastoni.
Even with just over 35 minutes to go, the points were secured, allowing Inter to take their foot off the gas and conserve energy.
Unsurprisingly they secured victory with ease and even added extra sparkle to the score when Carlos Augusto brilliantly controlled before firing into the corner before Marcus Thuram added a sixth at the death.
As a result, Inter move to within three points of Atalanta with one game in hand, while this victory is made all the more memorable by the fact that Lazio have previously been unbeaten at home in Serie A this season and nine of the last ten had won matches. competitive matches on home turf (D1).
With such form, Marco Baroni may not dwell too much on this defeat and simply put it down to a bad night at the office.
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