Napoli 4-1 Inter Milan
Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli put on a stunning second-half show, to land Inter Milan’s Serie A top-four hopes in serious doubt at the Stadio San Paulo tonight.
Gli Azzurri has second place wrapped up and a summer break to look forward to, but for Inter there will be a nerve-wracking end to the season next weekend.
This was a game Inter really needed to take something from to keep their Champions League target nicely within sight, particularly in light of the Serie A 2019 results this weekend. Atalanta moved ahead of Luciano Spalletti’s side with a draw away to Juventus, while fifth-placed Milan climbed to within a point of Inter with a home win over Frosinone.
Spalletti’s men have been in the top four for most of the season, and it’s still in their own hands, but their grasp on the prize may just be slipping.
We’re going to have a fantastic climax to the SBOBET Serie A season so keep it right here for the best odds, the pre-match previews and all the action as the drama unfolds.
Highlights of the game
Both sides started with attacking intent, Dries Mertens firing over on three minutes and then Inter’s Radja Nainggolan having a shot charged down after good work from Lautaro Martinez. The Belgian midfielder is a man for the big game, scoring a spectacular goal in the recent 1-1 draw with Juventus, and he looked up for this match from the off.
Napoli top scorer Arkadiusz Milik had an early chance too, picking up a ball from Jose Callejon before watching his shot fly agonisingly close to the top left corner. But on 16 minutes Gli Azzurri went ahead when Fabian Ruiz passed to Piotr Zielinski and the midfielder found his range superbly as his long-range shot flew into the top left corner.
The hosts continued to look the stronger team and Inter keeper Samir Handanovic got down smartly to deny Mertens, but as half time approached Inter moved up a gear, driven by the wing play of Ivan Perisic who set up chances for Martinez and Nainggolan, but neither troubled Orestis Karnezis in the Napoli goal.
Inters’ night was pretty much over on the hour when Mertens bagged his 15th goal of the season, meeting a Callejon cross and planting his header beyond Handanovic and into the bottom corner of the net.
The hosts now had the taste for blood and went for the jugular on 71 minutes. Milik almost made it three, but was denied from close range and then as Napoli piled on the pressure Kevin Malcuit found Ruiz in space and he fired into the bottom corner.
Then the Spaniard made it four when he picked up a ball from Mertens and fired it high into the top corner as the Inter defence, so good all season, began to look in disarray.
Mauro Icardi won himself a penalty and duly converted it, but it was little consolation for Inter on a worrying night for their fans.
Key Statistics
The Napoli vs Inter Milan betting odds pointed to a home win at 2.48, but Inter needed the result more than their hosts and had plenty of the ball (55 per cent) in the first half, but only had one shot on target to Napoli’s two.
The visitors dominated possession in the second half too, but just didn’t have Napoli’s cutting edge and paid the price.
Inter has never had a league win at this stadium and Napoli’s home record for the season now reads 13 wins, four draws and two defeats.
What’s next?
Napoli’s season comes to a close next week with an away trip to Bologna, a team which has hit form with a run of four wins from six to pull away from the drop zone after a difficult season.
Carlo Ancelotti is now looking forward to next season and has already expressed an interest in Spurs wing-back Kieran Trippier as he looks to strengthen his squad.
But it’s all about the here and now for Inter. City rivals AC Milan have a final day fixture away to SPAL. Gennaro Gattuso’s side is just a point behind Inter and has won three on the bounce. Meanwhile, Atalanta is at home to Sassuolo.
Inter has a home game against Empoli. Three wins on the run have given the visitors a real chance of survival and they will continue to fight for their Serie A survival, having hammered Europa League hopefuls Torino 4-1 today.
That is not a game Inter fans will be looking forward to.
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