Inter proved why many consider them the leading candidates to win the Scudetto this season with an emphatic 3-0 victory against reigning champions Napoli. Sunday’s one-sided fixture at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona fired Simone Inzaghi’s high-flying side back to the top of the Serie A standings.
Fresh off an insane 3-3 comeback draw against Benfica in midweek Champions League action, Nerazzurri headed south to defy a dreadful 17-game away form against Napoli (W1, D6, L10). After an evenly-balanced affair in the opening half an hour, which saw Marcus Thuram’s early opener disallowed for a narrow offside, Inter established control of proceedings.
However, fans at the Maradona Stadium had to wait until the 44th minute for the deadlock-breaker. Hakan Calhanoglu made the crowd’s patience worthwhile, smashing home a thunderous half-volley from outside the box to put Inter in front on the brink of halftime. Nicolo Barella, who assisted the Turkish midfielder for the opening goal, turned from a provided to a scorer.
Just after the hour mark, the Italian midfield dynamo received a precise cutback from Lautaro Martinez on the edge of the box. He dribbled past two Napoli defenders before slotting home a routine finish to put clear daylight between the teams. But it wasn’t the end of Walter Mazzarri’s nightmare as his former side put the icing on the cake in the 85th minute.
Thuram grabbed his goal in the end. Juan Cuadrado was unmarked on the far side and unleashed a terrific cross across the face of goal for the Frenchman to tap it into an empty net and seal an outstanding win for Inter. And while Inzaghi’s lads returned to the top of the tree, Napoli fell outside the top four as Roma recovered from a halftime deficit to beat Sassuolo 2-1 earlier today.
Inter (3-5-2)
Yann Sommer – 7
Inter endured some shaky moments at the start of the game, but the Swiss goalkeeper was there to bail them out of trouble and set the tone for a memorable night.
Stefan de Vrij – 6.5
Despite enjoying a decent start, the injury-prone Dutch center-back succumbed to a new fitness problem less than 20 minutes into the match, forcing Inzaghi to take him off.
Matteo Darmian – 6.5
Even though it wasn’t the best performance from the experienced defender, he did enough to fend off the likes of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Francesco Acerbi – 7
Rolled back the years to keep Osimhen a frustrated figure, winning virtually every aerial challenge coming his way while barely putting his foot wrong in the build-up.
Federico Dimarco – 7
Not as decisive as in some recent Serie A matches, but still confident enough to deal with Matteo Politano and provide the usual depth on the left-hand side.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7.5
Another typically energetic performance from the Armenian as he kept his passing sharp and precise while refusing to take many risks when in possession.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 7.5
Scored an absolute screamer to give Inter the lead and make the visitors’ life in the second half much more comfortable. He didn’t lose a single ball today.
Nicolo Barella – 8
Turned on a beast mode to carry his side to a precious win against fierce opposition. One goal and one assist are more than you could ask from a midfielder in this type of contest.
Lautaro Martinez – 6
Many expected him to be the difference-maker tonight, but the Argentine barely had a clear sight of goal as Napoli defenders paid close attention to his movements off the ball.
Marcus Thuram – 6.5
He’s such an elegant player! Despite being denied an early goal, he never lost hope of getting on the scoresheet and eventually got rewarded for his effort.
Substitutes
Juan Cuadrado – 7
It took him only eight minutes on the pitch to register an assist in a classic ‘Cuadrado’ style.
Davide Frattesi – 6
Helped Inter maintain control of the game down the final stretch.
Marko Arnautovic – N/A
Yann Bisseck – N/A
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |