Inter ended Napoli’s unbeaten run in Serie A by beating them 3-2 in what was a thrilling encounter that had everything. Luciano Spalletti’s side opened the scoring in the 17th minute thanks to a brilliant goal from Piotr Zielinski.
The Nerazzurri did not take long to equalise and did so through Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty kick. Inter went ahead just before half time thanks to Ivan Perisic’s header from the Turk’s corner, thus making it the first time Napoli conceded twice in a league fixture this season. They extended their lead just after the hour-mark through Lautaro Martinez before Dries Mertens pulled one back for the Partenopei.
Napoli tried hard to equalize during the final few minutes but the Inter backline was rigid enough to deny them.
The Azzurri’s unbeaten run came to an end but they are still at the top of the Serie A table thanks to Fiorentina’s 4-3 win over Milan in another spectacular encounter. Inter remain third in the standings but the difference between them and the top two is only four points.
Today’s fixture was a truly entertaining encounter with some splendid performances from both sets of players. So, let’s take a look at how they fared.
Inter XI
Samir Handanovic- 6.5
The Slovenian goalkeeper’s biggest moment throughout the match was when he made a magnificent save to deny Mario Rui in the dying minutes.
Milan Skriniar- 7
The Slovak marshalled Inter’s backline in place of the injured Stefan de Vrij and did a pretty good job at the back, making some important clearances and tackles. Skriniar also tried to score from Calhanoglu’s kick but his header was wide.
Andrea Ranocchia- 6.5
The 33-year-old made only his second start of the season, replacing De Vrij and was decent at the back, making a few crucial interventions to trouble the Napoli attackers; had an impressive passing accuracy of 94%.
Alessandro Bastoni- 6.5
Could have done better at times but all-in-all, had a fairly decent game.
Matteo Darmian- 7
The former Manchester United man was always involved in the attack and delivered two key passes. Darmian took a shot on goal during the first half and it was just wide.
Nicolò Barella- 6.5
The 24-year-old’s shot on goal led to the handball that won Inter the penalty that in turn, resulted in their opening goal. Barella was a lot more involved in attack than defense.
Marcelo Brozovic- 7
It was another industrious performance from the Croatian who aided the team defensively while also got involved in the attacks on a few occasions.
Hakan Calhanoglu- 8.5
The Turk had a magnificent game, scoring the equalizer from the spot before providing the assist for Inter’s second goal. Calhanoglu could have had another assist to his name if Skriniar headed in from his free-kick.
Ivan Perisic- 8
Quite an impressive display from the Croat, heading in Inter’s second goal while often sending crosses forward. Perisic was a real menace for the Napoli defenders and played a key role in his team’s win.
Joaquin Correa- 7
The Argentine started ahead of Edin Dzeko and had a fairly good game before being replaced by the Bosnian. Correa provided the assist for Inter’s third goal.
Lautaro Martinez- 7.5
Scored Inter’s third of the game and often troubled the opposition defenders. Martinez had a good chance to score before as well, but his shot was just wide off the far post.
Inter substitutes
Edin Dzeko- 6
Came on for Correa just after the hour-mark but unfortunately, his most notable moment of the game was the nasty collision with David Ospina that saw both players playing with their heads bandaged for the remainder of the game.
Arturo Vidal- 5.5
Replaced Calhanoglu and had 14 touches throughout his time on the pitch.
Federico Dimarco- 5.5
Came on for Barella and while he did not put a foot wrong, the 24-year-old didn’t have any spectacular moment either.
Roberto Gagliardini- 5
Replaced Martinez in the 75th minute
Martin Satriano- N/A
Napoli XI
David Ospina- 6.5
Conceded three goals but did well to make sure Inter did not score any further, most notably making a fine save from Barella. The Colombian had a nasty collision with Dzeko and had to play the remainder of the fixture with a bandage around his head.
Giovanni di Lorenzo- 7
The 28-year-old went up-and-down the right flank throughout the game and was active defensively as well as offensively. Di Lorenzo had more touches than any other player on the pitch- 95.
Amir Rrahmani- 6
Not the best performance from Rrahmani but wasn’t the worst either, making a number of clearances and blocks while having a pass accuracy of 90%.
Kalidou Koulibaly- 6
The Senegalese centre-back’s handball led to the penalty that saw Inter equalizing but he compensated for that by providing the assist for Mertens’ goal. The 30-year-old will be eager to produce better performances to help Napoli maintain top spot in the standings.
Mario Rui- 6
The Portuguese international worked hard on the pitch and had a good chance to salvage a point for his team, only for his header to be saved brilliantly by Handanovic.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa- 6
The Cameroonian often tried to help Napoli offensively through his crosses and long-balls but could not do much to prevent them from defeat.
Fabian Ruiz- 5.5
A sub-par performance from the Spaniard with a 90% passing accuracy being the only positive he could take from the game.
Hirving Lozano- 6
The Mexican was quiet at the start of the game but became more involved as it progressed. Lozano often looked to create chances, providing two key passes.
Piotr Zielinski- 7
The Polish international was perhaps Napoli’s best player today, scoring a brilliant goal to open the scoring while looking to trouble the Inter defenders on a number of occasions.
Lorenzo Insigne- 6.5
The Napoli skipper provided the assist for Zielinski’s opening goal but did not contribute much as the game progressed.
Victor Osimhen- 6
The Nigerian striker had a few moments when he put pressure on the opposition backline. However, the match ended sadly for him as he had to be taken off the field after sustaining an injury from a nasty collision with Skriniar.
Napoli Substitutes
Andrea Petagna- 6
Came on after Osimhen got injured but could not contribute much to his team’s attack; had a passing accuracy of 100%.
Dries Mertens- 7
The Belgian replaced Insigne and scored a magnificent goal to keep Napoli in the game. Mertens often troubled the Inter backline after finding the net but could not add to his tally.
Elif Elmas- 6
Came on for Lozano and had a passing accuracy of 100%.