Reigning champions Inter gained ground on AC Milan and Napoli in the race to retain their title, with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Partenopei at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Serie A on Sunday evening.
The Nerazzurri went behind to a Piotr Zielinski strike, but lead at half-time through a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty and Ivan Perisic header. Striker Lautaro Martinez extended their advantage with half an hour remaining, before a Dries Mertens goal gave the hosts a nervous final few minutes.
INTER PLAYER RATINGS VS NAPOLI
Handanovic 6.5; Skriniar 6, Ranocchia 6, Bastoni 6; Darmian 6, Barella 7 (75’ Gagliardini 5.5), Brozovic 6.5, Calhanoglu 6.5 (62’ Vidal 5.5), Perisic 6.5 (88′ Satriano n/r); Correa 5.5 (62’ Dzeko 6), Martinez 7.5 (75’ Dimarco 6)
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – LAUTARO MARTINEZ
The Argentina international provided the crucial goal to end Napoli’s undefeated start to the Serie A campaign, but gave much more to Inter during what could be a crucial result for their Scudetto defence. The attacker’s energetic display and willingness to run the channels or chase down opposition players gave the Nerazzurri the platform for victory.
