Lukaku and Handanovic steal the show as Inter beat Napoli

MILAN - Samir Handanovic’s saves and Romelu Lukaku’s left foot. It was this pairing that made all the difference on Wednesday evening as Inter beat Napoli 1-0 at San Siro to secure their fifth consecutive league win. It was a tough encounter and at times slow, with a number of bookings late on alongside super saves from our No.1. Ultimately, it was a goal from our No.9 that downed Napoli, who continued pressing right until the final whistle despite being reduced to 10 men. 

Hard-fought matches like this must always be won to maintain momentum. Injuries, a mid-game knock for Brozovic and a lingering edginess were key themes to the match, with Darmian playing a key role in winning the second-half penalty. It was then down to Lukaku to play it cool from the spot, once again scoring at home in the league. However, equally as important was Handanovic, whose fundamental saves kept Napoli at bay before the woodwork also prevented Petagna. All of which helped gift the Nerazzurri three points, moving them up to 27 in the league and now just one behind Milan, who drew with Genoa. 

With the two best attacking sides in Serie A facing off, it was perhaps out of hesitation that led to both teams closing off space early on. The first 45 minutes was a tactical affair, with Gattuso setting his side out in a 4-3-2-1 formation with pace on the flanks and Demme and Bakayoko sitting in front of the defence, both of whom played a key role in keeping the Nerazzurri strikers quiet. This led to play mostly being directed to the flanks, while Napoli sat deep and kept the ball, enjoying over 60 per cent of possession. The Partenopei also proved a threat on the break, particularly via the pace of Lozano and Insigne, as well as Zielinski through the middle.  

It was then after just 16 minutes that Mertens went off injured, followed then by Inter enjoying their first real chance to score. This came through Lautaro, who turned his man superbly before flashing a shot just wide of Ospina’s post. It was then Zielinski’s turn to threaten, as he whistled a volley just wide in the 33rd minute. 

The second half followed a slightly different pattern, because Napoli pushed further up the pitch while continuing to keep possession. Lozano was particularly lively down the right flank, delivering dangerous balls on more than one occasion. But the match itself didn’t really explode into life until the 69th minute, when, following Di Lorenzo’s delivery, Handanovic produced a magnificent save to keep out Insigne’s back-heel flick.

Then, at the other end of the pitch, Darmian charged into the box at the right moment before being upended by Ospina: the goalkeeper was booked and, even more significantly, Insigne was sent off for dissent. Lukaku stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way and Inter found themselves a goal in front with a one-man advantage. However, Napoli’s heads didn’t drop and, with Inter sitting further and further back, the away side came pouring forward.

First, Handanovic stuck out a hand to deny Politano. Then, Napoli had two big chances to level matters after 90 and 92 minutes: after Di Lorenzo had seen his effort blocked by Handanovic’s legs, Petagna smacked the post from close range. Inter were made to suffer but ultimately prevailed, picking up three vital points.

INTER 1-0 NAPOLI

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar, 6 de Vrij, 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian, 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic (12 Sensi 67'), 5 Gagliardini, 15 Young (33 D'Ambrosio 86'); 9 Lukaku, 10 Lautaro (2 Hakimi 77').

Substitutes: 27 Padelli, 97 Radu, 11 Kolarov, 13 Ranocchia, 14 Perisic, 24 Eriksen.

Coach: Antonio Conte.

NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): 25 Ospina; 22 Di Lorenzo, 44 Manolas, 26 Koulibaly, 6 Mario Rui (31 Ghoulam 85'); 4 Demme (7 Elmas 85'), 5 Bakayoko (8 Fabian Ruiz 74'); 11 Lozano, 20 Zielinski (21 Politano 74'), 24 Insigne; 14 Mertens (37 Petagna 16').

Substitutes: 1 Meret, 16 Contini, 2 Malcuit, 19 Maksimovic, 23 Hysaj, 33 Rrhamani, 68 Lobotka.

Coach: Gennaro Gattuso.

Goalscorers: 73' Lukaku (I) (pen.).

Bookings: Brozovic (I), Bakayoko (N), Ospina (N), Lozano (N), Lukaku (I), Skriniar (I), D'Ambrosio (I), Handanovic (I)

Sent off: Insigne (N) in the 72nd minute for dissent

Added time: 2' - 4'

Referee: Massa.

Assistants: Meli, Alassio.

Fourth Official: Fourneau.

VAR: Calvarese.

VAR Assistant: Del Giovane.