As Inter and Atalanta battled each other for bragging rights in Bergamo, bitter rivals Napoli, who sit sandwiched between the aforementioned duo in 3rd position alongside 2nd placed Milan, have communicated a sarcastic, but amicable tweet, that took everyone by surprise.
Napoli were on the verge of being pushed below by Atalanta to fourth position, as La Dea needed a victory to go one point ahead of the Partenopei’s 43 points, but instead were held to a stalemate by the Nerazzurri at the Gewiss Stadium.
Celebrating the draw up north, the Partenopei ‘congratulated’ Atalanta and Inter on an ‘entertaining and fairly contested game of football’ – both in English and in Italian.
The club would like to congratulate Atalanta and Inter on an entertaining and fairly contested game of football
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) January 16, 2022
Il Calcio Napoli si complimenta con Atalanta e Inter per aver giocato una bellissima partita, fatta di calcio onesto e spettacolare.
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) January 16, 2022
Atalanta masterfully contained Inter’s advances in the final-third throughout the match, although the Nerazzurri came painfully close to drawing first blood.
The visitors of the evening managed to garner a clean sheet and in turn, a highly impressive record of registering five clean sheets away from the Giuseppe Meazza for the first time in the three-points-for-a-victory era. However, they also ended their 40-match scoring streak.
FT: Atalanta 0-0 Inter
Inter's run of 40 games where they've found the back of the net comes to an end… ❌ pic.twitter.com/cznen9sKSQ
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 16, 2022
5 – @Inter_en have kept the clean sheet in five Serie A games in a row away from San Siro for their first time in the three points for a win era. Portcullis.#AtalantaInter #SerieA
— OptaPaolo ? (@OptaPaolo) January 16, 2022
Although it initially seemed like a totally disconnected statement by Napoli, the thankful message reflects the club’s stance to actively fight for the Scudetto title until the end of the season, as they trail league leaders Inter by seven points having played 21 games.
The last time Napoli won the Italian championship was in 1989/90, before which they captured the league title only once – in 1986/87, inspired by the legendary Diego Maradona.