Powerful Inter throw down gauntlet with Torino rout in season opener

Inter Milan began their bid to reclaim the Serie A title with Monday's 5-0 hammering of sorry Torino in Cristian Chivu's San Siro debut as coach.

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Alessandro Bastoni got the ball rolling in the 18th minute with a brilliant glancing header before Marcus Thuram - who struck in each half -- Lautaro Martinez and new boy Ange-Yoan Bonny made sure of a comfortable victory for the hosts.

Inter are expected to be Napoli's main challengers for the Scudetto after conceding the title on the final day of last season, which ended with a traumatic thumping at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

"What happened last year happened last year.. all we can do is keep doing our best for Inter," said Thuram, who was man of the match in front of his father, France icon Lilian, and his brother Khephren.

The 20-time Italian champions looked far from the exhausted, ageing outfit taken apart by PSG in May, even if the starting lineup featured only one new player in Petar Sucic.

It was Sucic who laid on Thuram for his first goal of the new campaign in the 36th minute with a beautiful pass in behind Torino's sloppy defence.