Inter's Symphony of Destruction

In the end, the only surprise was that it took them a quarter of an hour. For a side built on the counter, on lightning wings and a defence that has conceded a beggarly six goals in sixteen games, FC Internazionale Milano chose a strange way to announce their return to domestic duties: they lined up and simply blew Sassuolo away. Five goals, no reply, and a performance that had the San Siro roaring like the grandest of opera houses. This was not a football match; it was a coronation.

Three days after a bruising draw in Dortmund that left their Champions League fate hanging, Inter faced a Sassuolo side that had already shipped forty-one goals this season. The result was never in doubt, but the manner of it was breathtaking. Every attack seemed to end in a chance; every chance seemed to end in the net. The fifth goal, a sweeping move that started with the goalkeeper and ended with a tap-in, was greeted with a standing ovation that lasted until the final whistle.

And yet, for all the beauty of the performance, the real story is the table. Inter now sit on forty-one points from sixteen games, four clear of a Juventus side that ground out a narrow win at Cittadella. The Old Lady were not at their best, but they did what champions do: they won ugly. A single goal, a clean sheet, and three points that keep them within striking distance. Their challenge is not over, but it is hanging by a thread.

Fiorentina, the early-season romantics, were not in action this week, their game postponed. They sit third, seven points behind Inter, with a game in hand. It is a gap that looks more like a chasm with every passing week. Napoli, meanwhile, continue their quiet resurgence. A 3-0 win over Atalanta moves them to thirty-three points, level with Fiorentina, and suddenly the battle for the Champions League places is alive again.

But the real drama is at the bottom. Cittadella, beaten by Juventus, slip to nineteenth, their ten points a paltry return for a season of struggle. Perugia, the draw specialists, remain eighteenth, their single win a damning indictment of their lack of ambition. And Cosenza, rooted to the foot of the table, are already seven points from safety. The trapdoor is opening, and they are staring into the abyss.

For Inter, though, the only way is up. This was a statement of intent, a reminder that they are not just the best team in Italy, but one of the best in Europe. The Champions League draw may have been unkind, but on this evidence, they fear no one. The title is theirs to lose, and they know it.

The new year will bring new challenges, but for now, Inter can enjoy the view from the top. The orchestra is playing their tune, and the rest of Serie A is dancing to it.