Marcus Thuram insists he is ‘not interested’ in challenging for the Capocannoniere crown after his first hat-trick, while Alessandro Bastoni admits Inter cannot explain their defensive ‘blackouts.’
The France international took centre-stage at San Siro this evening, bagging a hat-trick to give his team a 3-2 victory over 10-man Torino.
There were two headers – both on crosses from the left flank – and he was ready to meet the rebound from a parried Lautaro Martinez effort.
Despite the fact Guillermo Maripan was sent off at the 20th minute for a studs-up tackle on Thuram’s ankle, Torino hung in there with Duvan Zapata’s goal and a Nikola Vlasic penalty, making it a nervy night for the reigning champions.
“I hadn’t scored for two or three games, the important thing is that the team wins, but if I score then I’m even happier,” Thuram told Sky Sport Italia.
His only previous hat-trick in Europe’s top competitions was for Borussia Monchengladbach against Oberachern in the German Cup on July 31, 2022.
“Every game in Serie A is difficult, we have a big squad with three or four new arrivals who have come to help us and we hope to do well.”
Lautaro Martinez was Capocannoniere of Serie A last season, so is Thuram aiming to challenge his strike partner for the crown?
“I am not interested in this, the most important thing is that Inter get three points.”
Thuram scores for Inter, but Bastoni concerned at conceding
While Inter can always find the back of the net, their defensive solidity has seemingly disappeared compared to last season, conceding nine goals in just seven Serie A rounds.
Did Torino going down to 10 men make them feel that this was going to be easy?
“Especially after going 2-0 up, we thought and hoped that it’d be downhill, but we still managed to bring home an important victory,” Bastoni told Sky Sport Italia after providing two assists.
“I honestly don’t know why we have these little blackouts, perhaps it’s tougher when you play so often. Locking down the matches for the final half-hour could allow us to preserve some energy, so we ought to get better at that.
“Our strength last season was not underestimating any test and we must do that again this time.”
