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
Man United climb to third, Fulham sink sorry Spurs
- Red Devils have taken their tally to 19 points from a possible 21
LONDON: Benjamin Sesko stretched his hot streak with the winning goal as Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to go third in the Premier League, while Tottenham failed to dispel relegation fears after defeat at Fulham.
Sesko was handed his first start in seven games since Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford and rewarded his boss with another vital goal to edge United closer to a return to the Champions League.
Palace had taken an early lead at Old Trafford when Maxence Lacroix outmuscled Leny Yoro to guide in a header from Brennan Johnson’s corner.
But United hit back to remain unbeaten under Carrick and take their tally to 19 points from a possible 21.
The game swung on one incident as Lacroix was sent off and conceded a penalty for pulling back Matheus Cunha just before the hour mark.
Bruno Fernandes confidently stroked the resulting spot kick past former teammate Dean Henderson.
Fernandes was then the creator for the second as his curling cross was powered in by Sesko.
The Slovenian has now scored seven times in his last eight appearances to quieten critics of his £74 million ($100 million) price tag after a slow start to his career in England.
Tottenham remain perilously poised just four points above the relegation zone as interim boss Igor Tudor again failed to halt their alarming slide after a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.
Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a deserved half-time lead as they moved up to ninth and back into contention for European football next season.
Richarlison headed in a late consolation for Tottenham, but they remain the only Premier League side without a win in 2026.
The one crumb of comfort for Spurs was defeat for relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, 2-1 at Brighton.
All three goals arrived in the first 15 minutes as Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck netted for the Seagulls either side of Morgan Gibbs-White’s reply.
Forest sit two points above the drop zone ahead of a daunting trip to Manchester City on Wednesday.
