Inter join Juventus at top of Serie A

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan claimed a third straight win with a Mauro Icardi penalty and Ivan Perisic volley giving them a 2-0 win over SPAL to join Juventus at the top of the Serie A table on Sunday.

Champions Juventus beat Chievo 3-0 on Saturday and Luciano Spalletti’s side were too strong for promoted SPAL in the San Siro.

Icardi added to his Serie A tally this season with a 27th-minute penalty giving him a fifth goal after braces in the opening two games.

The penalty was awarded after the intervention of the VAR video referee, after Joao Mario was tripped inside the box with Icardi slotting in.

Perisic sealed the victory after 87 minutes with a powerful volley into the top corner.

Inter and Juventus have nine points from three games and could be joined by AC Milan and Napoli later Sunday.

Lazio’s game against Milan in Rome was pushed back an hour because of torrential rain in the capital with Napoli playing in Bologna.

Paulo Dybala inspired Juventus to a 3-0 win over Chievo on Saturday ahead of next week’s Champions League opener at Barcelona with the game between Sampdoria and Roma in Genoa postponed because of adverse weather conditions.