MILAN — Inter Milan moved atop Serie A at least for a night with a 3-2 win over Sampdoria on Tuesday.
Inter captain Mauro Icardi scored either side of halftime after Milan Skriniar found the target early on at the San Siro. Both had previously played for Sampdoria.
Dawid Kownacki and Fabio Quagliarella scored late for the visitors.
Despite the victory, Icardi said he was a "bit angry" that Inter had missed so many chances – hitting the woodwork three times – and then allowed Sampdoria to make it close at the end.
"We can’t risk anything in matches like these," Icardi added. "We know what we’re capable of. We’re a great squad with strong players … we’re capable of much more than what we’re doing now."
Remaining unbeaten, Inter moved one point ahead of Napoli, which visits struggling Genoa on Wednesday.
Sampdoria, which has a game in hand, remained sixth after only its second loss.
Before kickoff, Icardi and the referee presented children with copies of Anne Frank’s "The Diary of a Young Girl," and Primo Levi’s "Survival in Auschwitz" (also known as "If This is a Man"), part of an initiative of Holocaust remembrance in the wake of anti-Semitic acts by Lazio fans.
Coming off a 0-0 draw at Napoli on Saturday, Inter immediately showed off its title credentials.
Skriniar was left unmarked to score from inside the box following a corner but wouldn’t celebrate the goal against the team where he had played for the past two seasons.
Ivan Perisic then nearly scored from long distance with the goalkeeper out of position, but his effort hit the post.
Icardi’s 10th of the season came shortly after the half-hour mark with an angled, bouncing shot after being set up by Matias Vecino.
Icardi also sent a header against the post in the first half following a corner taken by Antonio Candreva.
Icardi got his second — his 11th goal in 10 matches — by turning home a cross from Perisic, who also hit the crossbar in the 63rd minute.
A minute later, Kownacki finished off a counterattack by taking advantage of a lapse in concentration by Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
Quagliarella scored with a header five minutes from the end.
Inter’s current position is a sharp contrast from where the club stood a year ago, when it appeared lost under Frank de Boer.
Including Roberto Mancini’s surprise resignation two weeks before the season began, Inter struggled through four managerial changes in 2016-17 and finished seventh to miss out on European competition.
But order appears to have been restored with the appointment of former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti in June.
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