The Nerazzurri aimed to recover from a sobering midweek UEFA Champions League defeat to Arsenal when they welcomed a Pisa side that had been a tough nut to crack on the road.
Too many draws have undoubtedly contributed to Pisa’s flailing quest to beat the drop, but they struck first here in stunning fashion. Yann Sommer’s attempted ball towards Piotr Zielinski was intercepted by Stefano Moreo, who ruthlessly punished the Swiss shot-stopper with a superbly executed lob into an empty net.
Inter were expected to respond with an equaliser, but the visitors ripped up the pre-match script when Moreo added his and Pisa’s second with a fine near-post header from Matteo Tramoni’s corner.
This was a scarcely believable scoreline, until everything fell apart for Alberto Gilardino’s men.
Inter were awarded a penalty following Tramoni’s handball, which Zielinski dispatched, before Lautaro Martínez brilliantly powered home a header from Federico Dimarco’s delivery to restore parity.
The hosts then moved in front for the first time when Pio Esposito headed home from Alessandro Bastoni’s cross to conclude a crazy opening 45 minutes.
It was effectively one-way traffic after the restart, with Inter looking to rubber-stamp their authority against the relegation scrappers.
Simone Scuffet was being kept busy between the sticks, denying both Esposito and Dimarco, but the contest still remained in the balance.
It was an admirable display from Scuffet, who then made an outstanding one-handed save to parry away Marcus Thuram’s shot, before the combination of Arturo Calabresi and the woodwork prevented Dimarco from converting on the follow-up.
However, the visitors were showing signs they could provide another sucker punch, as Simone Canestrelli’s towering header flew narrowly over the bar.
Ultimately, the Nerazzurri struck again to add extra gloss on the scoreline as Dimarco’s superb volley clipped in off the post and past Scuffet, ending any hopes of a late sting in the tail from Pisa.
There was still time for two more goals, as Ange-Yoan Bonny unleashed a fine individual strike, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan nodded home the last goal of an eventful evening.
This victory maintains Inter’s healthy advantage in the title race, although AC Milan could cut their lead back to three points by beating Roma on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Pisa now sit bottom of the table after extending their winless league run to 11 games (D5, L6).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Inter)
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