Inter vs Napoli Review
Inter Milan avoided dropping their first points of the season by coming back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 against Massimiliano Allegri’s Napoli at the Giuseppe Meazza, securing their first victory in seven Serie A head-to-head matches. The crowd at Giuseppe Meazza witnessed an exciting start between last season’s top two teams, with Andy Diouf testing Alex Meret with a first-time shot from the edge of the box in the third minute.
At the other end, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa fired a low shot through a crowd, prompting a sharp reflex save from Josep Martinez, who had to stay alert to block Matteo Politano’s follow-up attempt from a tight angle. Anguissa posed another threat when his deflected shot went just wide midway through the first half, but by then the pace of the game had started to slow down. The pause in the game seemed to benefit Napoli, who arguably should have been leading at halftime thanks to Rasmus Højlund. However, his close-range shot lacked the power and accuracy needed to beat Martínez at the near post.
Fortunately for Martínez, that missed chance wasn’t immediately punished when Federico Dimarco’s free-kick hit the crossbar. Despite that near miss at the end of the first half, Cristian Chivu appeared dissatisfied with his team’s performance and brought on Marcus Thuram and new signing Curtis Jones before the second half began. But if the Inter coach was unhappy before, he must have been furious after two quick goals put his team in a difficult position. A defensive mistake led to a loss of possession deep in Inter’s half, and after Alisson Santos’ shot was saved and fell to Politano, the winger scored on his second attempt.
Just three minutes later, Inter’s defense again lost focus as the ball stayed in play, giving Højlund enough room to deliver a low shot into the far corner. The hosts were at risk of losing control of the match, but the Milan supporters soon had a reason to cheer as their team quickly responded after conceding a goal. After taking advantage of some careless defending by Inter, Napoli made a similar mistake when Dimarco managed to keep Piotr Zieliński’s precise pass in play, setting up Lautaro Martínez, who slid in to reduce the deficit. This led to a period of intense pressure from Inter, with Thuram’s diving header narrowly missing the post as Napoli withstood wave after wave of attacks.
It felt inevitable when Thuram leapt to meet Carlos Augusto’s deep cross, heading the ball into the net with eight minutes remaining. Inter pushed hard for a winning goal, but Napoli nearly scored at the last moment when Anguissa missed an open chance from close range. Adding to Napoli’s disappointment, they fell behind shortly after when Martínez instinctively finished from close range, darting to the back post to score following a scramble in front of goal.
With this result, Inter extend their nearly 10-month unbeaten streak at home in Serie A (10 wins, 3 draws), reclaiming the top spot in the league early in the season. Napoli suffered their first defeat in seven Serie A away games (4 wins, 3 draws), a tough blow as they face consecutive losses.
