There was nothing to separate Inter and Torino in the table after seven rounds, but it was the visitors who set about ensuring there would be at the end of the evening when they flew out the traps.
Samuele Ricci came closest to finding an early breakthrough for Torino when his rocket from 30-yards forced a smart stop from Yann Sommer.
But their game plan was thrown into turmoil midway through the first half when a lunging tackle from Guillermo Maripan on Marcus Thuram, initially penalised with a yellow card, was upgraded to a red after a swift VAR check.
Ultimately, it was Thuram who had the last laugh, dusting himself off to head home Alessandro Bastoni’s teasing delivery and hand Inter the lead with their first meaningful venture into the Torino box.
Their second one resulted in a goal too, in almost carbon copy fashion.
Once again it was a centre back providing the inch-perfect cross, as Francesco Acerbi planted a cross onto the head of Thuram who guided home his second of the evening.
The Nerazzurri didn’t have it all their own way though, and the 10 men halved the deficit instantly when Gvidas Gineitis fed Duvan Zapata, who slotted home to silence the San Siro.
Thuram was proving to be the visitors' kryptonite, and he rounded off his hat-trick in the infancy of the second half.
There was nothing pretty about his third goal, as he pounced upon a rebound and scuffed an effort up and over Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
By that point, Inter knew their points were all but assured, though victory could certainly have been more handsome, with Acerbi blazing over from 12 yards when he really ought to have at least hit the target.
Inter had to survive some hairy moments in the closing stages, as Torino pulled a late goal back from the penalty spot through Nikola Vlasic, but they did manage to hold on to round off a perfect week of three wins from three.
Simone Inzaghi will be disappointed to have seen his side holding on against 10 men, which is credit to Torino, who despite seeing their three-match unbeaten away league run come to an end, can be proud of the fight they put up.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
