Ivan Perisic grabbed a hat-trick as Inter crushed Chievo 5-0 to move to the top of Serie A for the first time since January 2016.Luciano Spalletti's men were hoping to take full advantage of Napoli's slip-up at home to Juventus on Saturday and did so in style, cruising to a third successive league victory.Although the home side wasted several good chances early on, they never looked back after taking the lead through Perisic's 23rd-minute strike.Mauro Icardi effectively put the game beyond Chievo with a powerful finish seven minutes before half-time, taking his tally to 16 in 15 league appearances this season.The hosts were far from done, however, with a quick-fire double early in the second half giving the scoreline a rather more impressive look, Perisic and Milan Skriniar getting the goals.Perisic completed the rout, and his treble, with a left-footed finish late on as Inter moved on to 39 points, one clear of Napoli.Inter looked every inch a side determined to put themselves top of the table, attacking Chievo relentlessly from the outset.They went close twice inside the first six minutes, with Andrea Ranocchia – playing in Serie A for the first time since mid-September – heading just over, before Antonio Candreva forced Stefano Sorrentino into a save from a tight angle.But Inter's dominance paid off midway through the first half – Perisic blasting home on the rebound after Sorrentino had parried a Davide Santon effort into his path.It should have been 2-0 soon after, but Joao Mario failed to finish after being fed in the area by Icardi on the break.They did double their lead just before half-time, though, as Icardi raced on to Marcelo Brozovic's through pass and found the net from an acute angle, with Sorrentino likely to be disappointed after getting a touch to it.
