Napoli claimed three huge points on Saturday night with a 3-1 win over Inter at the Maradona.
The Azzurri took the lead on the half-hour mark following a foul on Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the box. Kevin De Bruyne stepped up and powered home the spot kick, unfortunately picking up an injury in the process.
In the second half Leonardo Spinazzola hit a lofted ball into the path of Scott McTominay, who let it bounce before crashing home a magnificent angled finish from outside the box.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored a penalty to halve the deficit but Frank Anguissa soon restored the two-goal cushion following a well-worked team build-up and a brilliant solo run and finish.
Antonio Conte expressed his satisfaction following the game:
"We got the win despite the difficulties we had to face before and during the match. We're moving forward with lots of injured players – Kevin got injured today too – but we responded with great character.
"Inter came here to kill us off in football terms but we're not ready to give up. It's probably an unlucky year for us but we must react as we did tonight. We have no desire or intention to stop fighting.
"Inter were in good form and we came into the game having struggled a little. Despite that, we produced an excellent performance and thoroughly deserved to win the game.”
Napoli 3-1 Inter (HT 1-0)
Scorers: De Bruyne 33 (pen), McTominay 54, Calhanoglu 59 (pen), Anguissa 67.
NAPOLI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Juan Jesus, Buongiorno (Beukema 90), Spinazzola, Politano (Elmas 81), Anguissa, Gilmour, De Bruyne (Olivera 37), McTominay, Neres (Noa Lang 81).
Coach: Conte.
INTER: Martinez; Akanji, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries (Henrique 73), Barella (Barella 73), Calhanoglu (Sucic 72), Mkhitaryan (Zielinski 32), Dimarco, Bonny (Pio Esposito 62), Lautaro Martinez.
Coach: Chivu.
Referee: Mariani (Rome).
Booked: Di Lorenzo, Gilmour, Bastoni.
Referee: Mariani (Roma).
Booked: Di Lorenzo, Gilmour, Bastoni.
