Previous Easter victories, Lautaro's goal tally, and much more from Inter vs Roma

The perfect way to celebrate Easter Sunday: Inter swept aside Roma in the headline clash of Serie A's Matchday 31. An important victory that keeps the Nerazzurri at the top of the table.

It took just 60 seconds for Lautaro Martínez to break the deadlock against Roma. The captain had returned after 46 days out and immediately got Inter going. His strike was only the eighth goal scored in the first minute of matches played on Easter Sunday, and the second for Inter after Enrico Candiani found the net against Torino on 24 March 1940. Il Toro also became the first Inter player to score a brace on Easter since Adriano, who struck twice against Perugia on Easter 2004. This year’s meeting was the fourth time Inter and Roma have faced each other on this particular day. The record now stands at three Nerazzurri wins and one draw, though the previous Inter victory before this one dated all the way back to 5 April 1953 — a 1–0 win decided by a goal from István Nyers.

THE CAPTAIN RETURNS

46 days on, Il Toro is back: in trademark fashion, he broke the deadlock against Roma after just one minute. Lautaro struck again in the second half to complete his brace, with both goals set up by Marcus Thuram. The Argentine’s opener was the fourth goal ever scored in the first minute of an Inter–Roma clash. The previous one dated back 76 years, when Istvan Nyers found the net on 22 October 1950. The brace against the Giallorossi keeps the Nerazzurri captain at the top of the Serie A scoring charts with 16 goals. Since his first Serie A season in 2018/19, Lautaro has recorded more campaigns with at least 15 league goals than any other player in the league: Il Toro has now reached that mark in five different seasons. Those two strikes also see him move clear of Roberto Boninsegna in Inter’s all-time scoring rankings, taking his tally to 173 goals for the club. With 131 goals in Serie A, Lautaro is now the joint third-highest Argentine scorer in the history of the Italian top flight, level with Paulo Dybala and behind only Gabriel Batistuta and Hernán Crespo.

Both of Lautaro’s goals came from Marcus Thuram assists. The French forward provided at least two assists in a single Serie A match for the first time and was directly involved in three goals in the same game (one goal, two assists) for the third time in the competition — the first since 23 November 2024, when he scored twice and set up another against Hellas Verona.

BARELLA, CALHANOGLU AND ZIELINSKI

Hakan Çalhanoğlu was one of the standout performers in Inter’s win over Roma. The Turkish midfielder produced a stunning strike from more than 30 metres out right on the stroke of half-time, an absolute rocket that flew past Svilar and restored Inter’s lead after Mancini had brought the visitors level. It was Çalhanoğlu’s ninth goal of the Serie A campaign, and it also marked the first time since April 2024 that he has scored in consecutive home league matches, having already found the net against Genoa. Five of his nine goals this season have come from outside the penalty area — a tally no one in Serie A can better, with only Nico Paz level.

Nicolò Barella wrapped up the victory for Inter, returning to the scoresheet in Serie A for the first time since his goal against Cremonese on 4 October 2025. Factoring in the assists he provided for Esposito against Atalanta and Fiorentina, the midfielder has now been directly involved in goals in three consecutive league matches for the first time since October 2022.

Zieliński’s assist for Çalhanoğlu’s strike took the Polish midfielder beyond a significant milestone: the Nerazzurri number 7 has now been directly involved in 100 goals in the Italian top flight, with 49 goals and 51 assists to his name.

CLASHES AGAINST ROMA

Inter vs Roma once again proved to be one of the most entertaining fixtures in Italian football, the highest-scoring match-up in the history of the league. The seven goals scored at San Siro took the overall tally in this fixture to 540 in Serie A: 305 for Inter and 235 for the Giallorossi. Inter have now won nine of their last 11 league meetings with Roma. This was also their first home win against the Giallorossi in Serie A since 29 October 2023, when Marcus Thuram’s goal sealed a 1-0 win. Roma are, in fact, the opponent Inter have beaten more times than any other in the Italian top flight, with the Nerazzurri now boasting 81 victories.

It was also the ninth time Inter have scored at least five goals against Roma in Serie A, and the first since 6 February 2011, when they ran out 5-3 winners.