Inter moved back to within a point of Serie A leaders Juventus with a comprehensive 3-0 away win over Torino.

After kick-off was briefly delayed to allow for water to be swept from the pitch amid heavy rain, Lautaro Martinez scored his eighth goal of the season in the 12th minute.

Twenty minutes later, Stefan de Vrij's first strike of 2019-20 had Inter two ahead and Romelu Lukaku scored his 10th Serie A goal of the campaign after the break to wrap up the points.

In-form Lukaku is the first Inter player to score 10 goals in the first 13 matchdays of a debut Serie A season since Stefano Nyers in 1948-49.

It was a frustrating start for Torino, who lost influential captain Andrea Belotti to injury and fell behind before they could bring on Simone Zaza as his replacement.

They were caught out by Matias Vecino's header which allowed Martinez to race clear and find the bottom corner with a right-footed finish.

Simone Verdi fired narrowly wide at the other end, but Salvatore Sirigu had to produce an excellent save from Lukaku's powerful header and Inter doubled their lead from the resulting corner, Cristiano Biraghi's in-swinging cross from the right tapped in by an unmarked De Vrij at the back post.

A magnificent stop from Samir Handanovic in first-half stoppage time preserved Inter's two-goal advantage, the goalkeeper diving to claw away Verdi's deflected cross.

The visitors lost Nicolo Barella to an injury of their own and were relieved when Armando Izzo sent a good headed chance off target just after the break.

Inter made sure of victory after 55 minutes, though, Lukaku's right-footed effort going through the legs of Bremer and beating Sirigu after he had been found by Marcelo Brozovic.

Handanovic was at his best once more to tip away Verdi's free-kick but a home fightback never looked likely in the latter stages.

 

What does it mean? Inter make light work of Torino test

After Juventus had battled back late on to earn a win away to Atalanta earlier on Saturday, this fixture and the difficult playing conditions presented a potential obstacle for Inter.

The Nerazzurri had not won in five league meetings against Torino, but they negotiated the challenge comfortably to remain right behind Juve at the top.

Brozovic brilliant for Inter

Brozovic had an excellent performance, creating five chances for his team-mates including Lukaku's goal, while he had more passes and touches than anyone else in Antonio Conte's side as he constantly looked to get involved.

Torino defence found wanting

Torino have only won once in eight league matches and their early defending here gave them little chance of getting back on form.

The backline was completely caught out when Sirigu's clearance was headed back towards them by Vecino for the opener, while the second goal saw a quick corner surprise them, with Biraghi given time to deliver his cross and no defender in the vicinity of goalscorer De Vrij.

What's next?

Inter will look to build on this result when they are away to Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday, before a home league game against SPAL on Sunday. Torino are away against Genoa on Saturday.