Rome: Diego Milito scored twice on his return from injury and Inter Milan took the provisional Serie A lead with a 7-0 thrashing of promoted Sassuolo on Sunday in the Italian league's lunchtime fixture.
Rodrigo Palacio, Saphir Taider, Ricardo Alvarez and Estaban Cambiasso also scored for Inter, and defender Raffaele Puccino added an own goal.
Milito, who came on in the 54th, had been out since injuring his left knee in February. Inter moved one point ahead of Napoli and Roma, which play later.
Napoli's perfect start will be put to the test at the San Siro against AC Milan. Roma, which also won its opening three matches, meets Lazio in the capital's derby. Also, two-time defending champion Juventus host promoted Hellas Verona.
The emphatic victory for Inter comes amid news that Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir is closing in on a takeover of the club.
New Inter coach Walter Mazzarri has made an immediate impact with the Nerazzurri, which drew 1-1 with Juventus last week after winning their first two matches.
Palacio put Inter ahead seven minutes in following a cross from Yuto Nagatomo, Taider scored his first goal with Inter in the 23rd by redirecting a rebound from Palacio and Puccino made it 3-0 in the 33rd when he tried to beat Taider to the ball but ended up putting it in his own net instead.
Alvarez made it 4-0 with a rebound of a shot from Palacio in the 53rd. Milito replaced Palacio a minute later and needed just nine minutes to score, taking a cross from Alvarez and redirecting it in from close range.
Cambiasso found the target with a long shot in the 75th and Milito scored again in the 83rd after taking a pass from Fredy Guarin.
AS Roma's new coach Rudi Garcia succeeded where his three predecessors failed by leading his side to a 2-0 win against arch-rivals Lazio on Sunday, maintaining their 100 percent record in Serie A.
Federico Balzaretti and Adem Ljajic, from a penalty, gave Roma their first derby win for two-and-a-half years, while Lazio's misery was complete when substitute Andre Dias was sent off after only three minutes on the pitch.
Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente scored in a five-minute spell before halftime to give champions Juventus a 2-1 win over Verona and the Argentine saw another effort hit the post, roll along the line and hit the other upright before bouncing away.
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