NAPLES: Napoli secured a 3-1 home victory over Inter Milan on Saturday in a heated Serie A clash as Kevin De Bruyne converted a penalty before going off injured before Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa completed the win.
Napoli moved top of the table on 18 points, one ahead of AC Milan, who were held to a draw by Pisa on Friday. Inter sit third, level on 15 points with fourth-placed AS Roma.
After a quiet start to the game, Inter’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave away a penalty after half an hour for tripping Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
De Bruyne calmly converted it before clutching the back of his right thigh. His teammates consoled him as he grimaced and left the pitch before returning to the substitutes’ bench with crutches.
In the second half, the atmosphere at Stadio Diego Maradona heated up. McTominay doubled Napoli’s lead in the 54th minute with a precise finish, latching on to a perfectly delivered long ball from Leonardo Spinazzola.
Afterwards the Scot admitted he was not expecting such a delivery from Spinazzola.
“I lost the ball in the lights, so the pass took me by surprise, the lights are so bright I couldn’t see it. Then I just thought to shoot,” he told DAZN.
“Leo (Spinazzola) is a top player, he put in some great passes this year, now we need to find that consistency so we can continue to push.”
Hakan Calhanoglu pulled one back for Inter from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after Alessandro Buongiorno was penalized for handball.
Moments later, a heated scuffle broke out on the touchline, earning Napoli manager Antonio Conte a yellow card as he exchanged hand gestures with the Inter players.
In the 66th minute, Zambo Anguissa produced a moment of brilliance, driving forward on a counter-attack and holding off the Inter defense before calmly slotting home Napoli’s third.
De Bruyne’s injury added to Napoli’s growing list of absentees, which includes Rasmus Hojlund, Stanislav Lobotka and goalkeeper Alex Meret.
“Perhaps someone has cursed us, but we keep going anyway,” Conte said in regard to his side growing injury list.
“I live the game with my players, for good and bad, and we played against in my view the best squad in Italy.”
De Bruyne scores and limps off as Napoli beat Inter to move top
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De Bruyne scores and limps off as Napoli beat Inter to move top
- De Bruyne calmly converted it before clutching the back of his right thigh
- In the second half, the atmosphere at Stadio Diego Maradona heated up
Ronaldo strikes first as Al-Nassr maintain the pressure on Al-Hilal
- 3-0 away win over Al-Kholood narrows the gap on Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal to 3 points at top of the Saudi Pro League
DUBAI: Al-Nassr beat Al-Kholood 3-0 on Friday to cut Al-Hilal’s lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to just three points.
The Yellows moved into second place on 43 points from 18 matches, ahead on goal difference of Al-Ahli, who beat Al-Ettifaq 4-0 on Wednesday. League leaders Al-Hilal could only manage a 2-2 draw at Al-Qadsiah on Thursday.
After a goalless first half, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for the visitors two minutes after the break, following an intricate passage of play that concluded with fellow Portuguese forward Joao Felix setting him up from close range.
Al-Nassr’s second came courtesy of another Felix assist, when his corner was headed home firmly by Mohammed Simakan in the 53rd minute.
Felix himself came close to scoring what would have been one of the goals of the season, but his improvised “rabona” attempt was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Juan Pablo Cozzani.
The home side were reduced to 10 men when Hatan Bahbri was sent off after 72 minutes, before Kingsley Coman wrapped up the scoring a few minutes from the end from the penalty spot.
In Friday night’s other match, home side Neom beat Damac 3-0 to move into ninth place, while the visitors languish in 16th.
Earlier, Al-Taawoun held onto fifth spot in the table with a 1-0 home win over Al-Okhdood, while the visitors remain in trouble in 17th place, second-bottom of the SPL standings.
