Romelu Lukaku thanked Inter's supporters and fitness staff after ending his long wait for a goal from open play in Serie A with a double in Sunday's 3-0 victory at Empoli.
The Belgium striker opened the scoring early in the second half at Stadio Carlo Castellani with a precise finish past Samuele Perisan and doubled his tally with an angled drive.
Those were Lukaku's fourth and fifth league goals of the season, and his first from open play since netting against Lecce on the opening weekend, some 253 days ago.
Lukaku, who also played in substitute Lautaro Martinez to round off the scoring in a routine win, is glad he can start repaying the support of those around him during a tough time.
"We must thank the fans – they give faith to the players to do better," he told Sky Sport Italia. "This has been a complicated season and we thank the fans for their support.
"I'm quicker in the change of pace and we are doing great work with the fitness staff. My previous injury was the most serious of my career, one that had never happened before."
Lukaku, who has scored 39 per cent of Inter's goals in all competitions (7/18) since the start of February, added: "I am getting more confident and want to keep helping the team."
The Chelsea loanee was recalled to the starting line-up as Simone Inzaghi rotated his side between facing Benfica in the Champions League and Juventus in the Coppa Italia.
After overcoming Benfica to set up a showdown with Milan, focus now turns to the Coppa Italia semi-final with Juve, which is poised at 1-1 heading into Wednesday's second leg.
Inzaghi has a big selection call to make in attack after Lukaku was cleared to play against Juve with his first-leg red card rescinded, but it is a headache he welcomes.
"It's a problem I want to have in every area," Inzaghi told DAZN. "I'm happy to have Lukaku available and we hope, with the exception of [Milan] Skriniar, everyone will be ready.
"We know how much [Lukaku] has suffered – unfortunately these things happen. He's working well and it's nice for a coach to have an abundance of problems like this."
Inter may be impressing in cup competitions, but they have struggled in the league of late, with Sunday's win snapping a five-game run without a victory since early March.
It is the first time Inter have won by a three-goal margin since defeating Bologna 6-1 in November, and they kept a clean sheet away from home for the first time in nine games.
While happy with the performance of his side against lowly Empoli, Inzaghi is not happy with the quick turnaround in games in what is an intense period of the campaign.
"We can't think further than our next match, which is just 72 hours away," Inzaghi said. "The calendar is insane because we play a lot. However, we can't have any excuses.
"This was the response we needed today. Players who haven't played for a while did well, though I never had any doubts over that.
"Now we have the Coppa Italia semi-final and we want to give our all in that game."
Manchester United 1-0 Fulham: Zirkzee the hero on Red Devils debut
Joshua Zirkzee scored a late winner on his Manchester United debut as the Red Devils claimed a 1-0 victory over Fulham in the first Premier League match of 2024-25.
After recording their lowest-ever Premier League finish last season, United looked set to be frustrated at Old Trafford on Friday until their new striker diverted a deft finish past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 87th minute.
Introduced midway through the second half by Erik ten Hag, Zirkzee applied the crucial touch to fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s teasing centre to settle the contest.
Bruno Fernandes had earlier squandered United’s best chances, with Leno in excellent form for the visitors, making two saves from the Portuguese playmaker in swift succession.
Leno denied Mason Mount at the start of the second half, though Fulham were left to rue some missed openings at the other end when Zirkzee charged into the area to nudge home.
Alejandro Garnacho fluffed his lines when teed up by Marcus Rashford deep in second-half stoppage time, but the miss did not prove costly as United secured a winning start to the new campaign.
Data Debrief: Dutch delight
Zirkzee became the 15th Dutch player to score on his Premier League debut, with four of those doing so for United (also Ruud van Nistelrooy, Alexander Buttner and Donny van de Beek).
His goal ensured United have more wins (22) and more points (70) from their opening games of Premier League campaigns than any other side. The Red Devils are featuring in their 100th season in top-flight football, making them the fifth different team to reach the milestone after Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Le Havre 1-4 Paris-Saint-Germain: Les Parisiens start title defence emphatic late win
French champions Paris Saint-Germain won 4-1 at Le Havre on Friday, capitalising on a late collapse by the hosts to get their Ligue 1 season off to an excellent start.
PSG opened the scoring after three minutes when Goncalo Ramos found Lee Kang-in inside the box and he sent a left-foot shot into the net.
The visitors' joy was short-lived, however, as Ramos was hurt in a challenge and the Portuguese international had to be replaced by Randal Kolo Muani, who rattled the crossbar shortly after entering the fray.
The hosts, who had a goal chalked off in the first half for offside, shocked PSG after the break as Gautier Lloris in the 48th minute, before Josue Casimir's goal was disallowed following a VAR decision for handball in the build-up.
Lee was then inches away from a second as he struck the woodwork, but five minutes before the end, the Le Havre defence went missing as three PSG substitutes ran riot.
Ousmane Dembele headed home in the 85th minute before Bradley Barcola added a third as he cut inside from the right less than two minutes later.
Kolo Muani then completed the rout from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Lloris' late tackle in the box
Data Debrief: PSG leave it late
While it was three late goals that wrapped up the three points, Lee actually scored the earliest first goal of a Ligue 1 season (after two minutes and four seconds) since the one scored by Mamadou Niang for Marseille in August 2009 against Grenoble (1:42).
PSG are the first team to score at least three goals from the 85th minute in the same Ligue 1 game since Monaco in November 2016 against Nancy (also three).
Luis Enrique's side are now unbeaten in their last 25 Ligue 1 away games (winning 20, drawing five), extending the longest such run in their history.
Ulm 0-4 Bayern Munich: Muller's double helps Kompany make winning start
Thomas Muller's first-half brace ensured Vincent Kompany got off to a winning start at Bayern Munich as they beat Ulm 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal first round.
Kingsley Coman and Harry Kane came off the bench to add some gloss to the scoreline as Ulm rarely showed a threat against a dominant Bayern side.
The hosts did almost cause an early shock though, as Maurice Krattenmacher was left unmarked at the far post, but he could not adjust quickly enough and turned his first-time shot wide.
Joshua Kimmich then unlocked Ulm's defence with a throughball into Stanisic, who did brilliantly while off-balance to set up Muller for his first of the game.
And just two minutes later, the forward had his second – Christian Ortag was drawn to Serge Gnabry's run, leaving Muller to tap it into the empty net.
The hosts showed some fight in the second half, with Dennis Chessa forcing Manuel Neuer into a low save before Bayern finally got their third in the 79th minute, as Michael Olise's trickery set Coman up for a close-range finish.
Kane had a goal ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper, but he was not to be denied as he headed in a fourth with the final touch of the game.
Data Debrief: Muller at the double
Muller is off the mark for the season, and he wasted no time in doing it. He scored his earliest brace for Bayern (14 minutes) in his 708th competitive match for the club.
It was a clinical performance from the 34-year-old, who scored with both of his shots on target as he registered an expected goals of 1.42, and only Jamal Musiala (eight) had more touches in the opposition box than him (seven).
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