Lukaku stars on return home

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AP/AFP

London, Aug 22 : Romelu Lukaku starred in his first home game for Inter Milan since returning from Chelsea, helping his team beat Spezia 3-0 on Saturday for two wins from two games in Serie A.

Belgium forward was involved in two goals – scored in each half by Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Çalhanoğlu – and home fans applauded him enthusiastically when he made way for Edin Dzeko in the 68th minute.

Dzeko set up fellow substitute Joaquin Correa for the third goal in the 82nd.

Lukaku crashed a header off the crossbar before the break as he almost added to his goal from Inter's opening win over newly promoted Lecce last weekend.

Inter dominated from the start but home fans had to wait till the 35th minute for Martínez to fire in the opener. Nicolo Barella sent in a cross that Lukaku headed back for the Argentine to unleash his shot inside the left post.

Lukaku was involved again in the 52nd when he skipped past one defender and was faced by five more players when he passed to Milan Skriniar. Skriniar's attempted return pass was blocked but fell kindly for Çalhanoğlu to score.

Also Saturday, Domenico Berardi's brilliant first-half goal was enough for Sassuolo to defeat Lecce 1-0.

Udinese had Nehuen Perez sent off before the break but goalkeeper Marco Silvestri denied visiting Salernitana in a scoreless draw.

Lazio drew at Torino 0-0.

Odegaard leads Arsenal to top 

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are determined to make amends for a painful end to last season after climbing top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at Bournemouth.

Newly-appointed captain Martin Odegaard struck twice inside 11 minutes and William Saliba's stunning strike in the second half continued Arsenal's perfect start to the new campaign after three games.

At the same stage last season, Arsenal were without a single point and off to their worst start in 67 years.

However, it was a run of five defeats in their final 10 games that ultimately cost them a return to the Champions League as north London rivals Tottenham snatched a place in the top four.

"In life, difficult experiences make you stronger and make you learn more than good moments," said Arteta. "That moment was painful and we don’t want to go through that again."

The arrivals of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City have so far helped Arsenal reach a new level, while Saliba has settled seamlessly into the rigors of the Premier League after spending three seasons out on loan in France.

"Winning makes life completely different," added Arteta. "The atmosphere is good and the unity is incredible."


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