Lautaro leads Inter's comeback against Napoli and secures top spot in the Scudetto
An exceptional night at the San Siro
Inter Milan produced a stunning comeback at the San Siro, clawing back a two-goal deficit to beat Napoli 3-2 in the standout fixture of Serie A's third round.
The action arrived early. Inter nearly opened the scoring in the second minute with a low drive from the edge of the box, only for Meret to clear brilliantly. Napoli hit back in the seventh minute through a dangerous cross that caused chaos, struck by Anguissa and followed up by Politano, but Inter keeper Martinez produced a superb double save to keep both attempts out.
Danger flowed at both ends. Santos forced Martinez into holding a grounded effort at the second attempt in the 22nd minute, while Pisic showed exceptional skill in the 36th, toying with the Napoli defence before firing over the crossbar. Hojlund then squandered a clear chance while unmarked shortly before the break, and the first half ended goalless.
The second half erupted. Napoli pounced on a major error from Barella, whose backpass in the 50th minute let Santos break clear and collide with Martinez, before the ball rebounded to Politano to slot home. Inter had barely recovered when Hojlund caught them cold in the 53rd minute with a powerful strike from outside the box.
The Nerazzurri response was swift. Dimarco whipped in a first-time cross towards Martinez in the 56th minute, and he calmly placed it into the empty net to narrow the gap. Dimarco kept probing with another delivery to Lautaro in the 60th minute that flashed past the post, before the crossbar denied a Thuram header in the 74th.
Inter piled on the pressure until the 82nd minute rewarded them. Thuram rose to meet a well-taken cross and buried a wonderful header to level the scores.
Then came the killer blow. In the first minute of stoppage time, captain Martinez crowned the madness by pouncing on a loose ball inside the box that the Napoli defence failed to clear, striking it home to seal all three points.
That precious win sends Inter Milan clear at the top with a perfect nine points. Napoli stay frozen on three, dropping to tenth.
