ROME (AP) — Marcus Thuram stood confidently with his legs shoulder-length apart, cupped his hands around his ears so as to better take in the roar of the San Siro crowd and grinned.
For his first goal in Serie A — the league where his father Lilian won a series of titles as a standout defender — Thuram clearly wanted to cherish the moment.
It was certainly a goal worth celebrating.
Thuram met Federico Dimarco’s cross with a diving, forceful header by the far post to set Champions League finalist Inter Milan on its way to a convincing 4-0 win over Fiorentina on Sunday that extended the Nerazzurri’s perfect start.
And it turned out that Thuram was just getting started.
Having been involved in both goals of a 2-0 win at Cagliari on Monday, Thuram also set up Lautaro Martinez for Inter’s second and then drew the penalty that Hakan Calhanoglu converted for the third.
Lautaro then added another with one expert touch to redirect a free kick from Juan Cuadrado and raise his league-leading tally to five goals this season.
Inter joined city rival AC Milan as the only teams to have won all three of their matches so far — with the Milan derby coming up next on Sept. 16 after the international break.
It’s the first time since 1966 that Inter has opened with three straight victories and three consecutive clean sheets.
Thuram, who came on as a substitute for France in the World Cup final defeat to Argentina last year, is doing just fine as a replacement for the departed Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko as Lautaro’s strike partner.
After he opened the scoring in the 24th, Thuram’s pass set up Lautaro to finish off a counterattack in the 53rd and then was fouled by goalkeeper Oliver Christensen to set up the penalty.
The 26-year-old Thuram joined Inter on a free transfer after deciding not to renew his contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He signed for five years with the Nerazzurri.
Fiorentina, which qualified for the Conference League group stage with a win over Rapid Vienna on Thursday, rarely threatened.
Also, Torino beat Genoa 1-0 with a stoppage-time solo effort from Nemanja Radonjic.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer
