Romelu Lukaku gave an assistant and a goal in a sensational display in Inter Milan’s 3-0 win over AC Milan in Sunday’s classic.
Inter arrived in this match with first place and one point above Milan, who lost the lead last week after a surprising loss to Spezia.
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And it was the Nerazzurri who ran from the blocks and took the lead after just five minutes, when Lukaku passed over Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli. His first pass was blocked, but on the second attempt he made a perfect cross that Lautaro Martinez headed into the goal.
Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic made some sensational stops to keep the score even as Milan advanced through the first half.
But Inter increased the lead in the 57th minute, when Martinez scored the second when he finished off a beautiful move by the team, which saw Achraf Hakimi, Christian Eriksen and Ivan Perisic come together to put the Argentine striker on a finishing touch.
Lukaku scored in the impressive 66 minutes, catching the ball in the middle line and running towards the goal, before kicking to the near post.
It was a disappointing day for Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who, at 21 years and 361 days, became the youngest player to have scored 200 games in Serie A history.
Juventus have in the last nine Serie A titles, but Inter, now four points clear of Milan and out of all other competitions, will be the favorite to win the Scudetto for the first time since 2010.
“Lukaku can improve a lot, he is only 27,” Martinez told DAZN. “He works hard and is available to his teammates too. He is a great person on and off the field, we are happy to have him with us.”