INTER STATS | The Nerazzurri's journey and the precision of Eriksen
Team
— Apr 19th 2021Statistics and trivia following the draw in Naples
Inter’s run of eleven straight victories came to an end with the 1-1 draw at Stadio Diego Maradona against Napoli. After matchday 31 in Serie A, Antonio Conte’s team sit on 75 points in the table, with a nine-point lead over AC Milan in second, who won 2-1 yesterday against Genoa. Behind them are Atalanta who have 64 points and Juventus who have 62. Inter’s total of 75 points is the highest points tally for any club in the top five European leagues this season. Another interesting snapshot of Serie A right now shows that for the first time in its history, as many as five teams have 60 or more points after the first 31 games.
There are seven matches remaining in the league this season. Inter will be back in action as soon as Wednesday as the midweek fixture list sees them take on Spezia away, before hosting Verona at San Siro on Sunday. The last five league games will then be played against Crotone (away), Sampdoria (home), Roma (home), Juventus (away) and Udinese (home).
Inter drew their first game since the 0-0 in Udine in January, but most importantly they managed to come back from being a goal down - due to Handanovic's own goal – for the first time in 1,239 minutes, the last being in Rome against the Giallorossi in January.
Being behind at the break, Inter managed to draw level in the match in Naples, maintaining a consistent characteristic: 26 points have been won this season thanks to our second-half performances. Of the 70 goals Inter have scored, 49 have come in the second half.
ERIKSEN, DEADLY FROM RANGE
Christian Eriksen has a particular feeling for the stadium in Naples. Last season, in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia he scored directly from a corner kick, a piece of magic that he tried to replicate in the first half of Sunday's match. Then, in the second half, the wonderful equaliser came from his left foot. It was his sixth goal with the Inter shirt, and his second in Serie A (the first coming in July 2020 against Brescia).
The goal came about thanks to a beautiful shot from outside the box, a specialty for Eriksen who spoke about his ambidextrous ability after the match. The Dane holds a record for goals scored by midfielders from outside the box: since his debut with Tottenham in 2013/14, Eriksen has scored 24 goals with shots from outside the box in the top five European leagues, the same amount as Coutinho and Calhanoglu, with only Messi having scored more in the same period (59).