Inter outclass Napoli in Serie A derby

Serie A leaders, Inter Milan produced an impressive performance against Napoli at the Diego Maradona stadium as they secured maximum points away from home.

Inter secured the top of the table with a 3-0 victory away to reigning champions Napoli to prove that their form in the League is not a fluke.

Inter now lead Napoli with 11 points courtesy of Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolò Barella, and Marcus Thuram’s goals.

Although Napoli won on their first match under Walter Mazzarri’s against Atalanta, but lost to Real Madrid midweek in a 4-2 thriller.

They hit the top gear when Eljif Elmas stepped in for a not-fully-fit Piotr Zielinski and, within 100 seconds, stung Yann Sommer’s gloves with a screamer from a distance.

Proving their mettle, Inter also attacked as the game became end-to-end. Marcus Thuram thought he had scored after a give-and-go with Lautaro Martinez, but was inches offside.

Inter suffered a setback when de Vrij limped off with an adductor strain just 18 minutes in. He was replaced in the back three by Carlos Augusto.

After several attempts at opening the goals accounts, Matteo Politano, with a rocket from range, smashed against the crossbar.

The visitors missed another opportunity when Martinez sprung the offside trap and got in front of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, only to flick the awkwardly bouncing ball but Alex Meret bravely rushed out to parry from point-blank range.

Nerrazurri eventually opened the goals account before half-time when Dumfries nodded down a Federico Dimarco cross, and Barella laid it off for Calhanoglu’s daisy-cutter from 20 metres out. 

Inter made it two in early in the second half as Barella scored his first Serie A goal of the season. After a lucky touch, the midfielder nutmegged Lobokta before placing it beyond Meret’s reach.

Martinez failed to hit the target as he ballooned the Dumfries pull-back over from 12 yards while Osimhen saw his glancing header graze a coat of paint off the far post.

After holding on to pressure from their hosts, Inter got their third goal. Barella found substitute Juan Cuadrado down the right and rolled the ball across the six-yard box for a Thuram tap-in.

Written by Oladipupo Mojeed