Calhanoglu Achieves Career Milestone in Inter’s 6-0 Victory

Hakan Calhanoglu celebrated a significant achievement in his Serie A career as Inter Milan crushed Lazio 6-0. The Turkish midfielder reached 100 goal contributions in the Italian top flight, combining goals and assists.

The match at Stadio Olimpico, which Inter manager Simone Inzaghi had billed as a crucial clash in the title race, saw the Nerazzurri completely dominate their opponents. Calhanoglu opened the scoring with a penalty just before halftime, followed by goals from Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Barella, Denzel Dumfries, Carlos Augusto, and Marcus Thuram.

Despite being named Man of the Match, Calhanoglu humbly deflected praise to his teammates. “I think the MVP was the team, not me, because we all contributed,” he said in a post-match interview. “It was a great reaction from the team after our poor performance against Leverkusen in the Champions League.”

The convincing victory sends a strong message to Inter’s title rivals, as the reigning Serie A champions still have a game in hand. The rescheduled match against Fiorentina is likely to take place in February.

Marcus Thuram, who scored his 11th league goal of the season, praised Calhanoglu’s influence: “When Calha says I will score, I tend to score.” The French striker also revealed that he had learned to score goals by watching videos of former Inter star Christian Vieri.

While six different players found the net for Inter, captain Lautaro Martinez’s goal drought continued. However, Calhanoglu was quick to defend his teammate: “Lauti is helping the team so much, including with his defending. It’s not a problem for us. His moment will come; the important thing is that the team wins.”

This emphatic victory demonstrates Inter’s title credentials and their ability to bounce back from setbacks, as they look to defend their Serie A crown this season.