With Inter soaring at the top of the table and Cremonese searching for their first win since early December, it was no surprise to see the Nerazzurri get off to a dominant start.
Pio Esposito and Petar Sucic both went close in the opening moments, before the deadlock was broken on the quarter hour, when Federico Dimarco’s outswinging corner kick was expertly nodded in by leading goalscorer Lautaro Martinez for his 13th league goal of the campaign.
The home side almost responded immediately following their own corner kick routine, as the ball was worked around the box before a cross into the danger area, only for Federico Ceccherini’s effort to flash inches wide.
Just as the Grigiorossi were growing in the contest, however, they were dealt a blow around the half-hour mark when Piotr Zielinski unleashed a thunderous shot into the top-right corner from 25 yards out.
Minutes after the restart, play came to a stop again when Emil Audero went down after a flare - thrown by Inter fans behind his goal - set off next to the Cremonese goalkeeper, causing the referee to halt proceedings.
Once the game was resumed, the home side looked to get back into the contest, and they had a chance within minutes, when Alessio Zerbin was played in down the right, but he hit his shot straight into the grateful grasp of Yann Sommer.
But Cremonese struggled to create anything else going forward, as the contest became disrupted due to multiple substitutions from both benches, and a stop-start affair saw the remaining half-hour peter out with little action.
That was until the final 10 minutes, when Zerbin struck the woodwork for a low drive from the edge of the box, but Inter were mostly comfortable and saw out the remaining minutes with little trouble.
The win increases their lead at the top of the Serie A table to eight points above AC Milan, who travel to Bologna on Tuesday. Cremonese, meanwhile, are now winless in nine league games (D3, L6), and sit just six points above the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lautaro Martinez (Inter)