The most awaited match of the 12th matchday of Serie A between Inter and Napoli ends in a draw. At San Siro the final result was 1-1, with goals from McTominay and Calhanoglu but in the end the penalty kick missed by the Turk himself weighs heavily (first ever mistake in Serie A). The Neapolitans of the great former Antonio Conte regain the solitary top spot by climbing to 26 points, +1 on Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri now paired with Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio. At the start, the hosts tried to play the game on a tactical level, but the first bell came from the guests in the 15th minute with Kvaratskhelia, who attempted a right-footed shot which was muffled and blocked by Sommer. The Nerazzurri response was immediate and from Pavard, who did well to enter the area following Dumfries’ touch with Buongiorno who providentially blocked him at the moment of the shot. In the 21st minute, Barella tries instead, directing a right-footed volley from the edge to the side, while on the other side the Neapolitans take advantage of an inactive ball to break the deadlock: Kvara takes a corner, Rrahmani touches, effectively serving an assist to McTominay who from a Metro leads Dumfries 1-0.
Inter are not there and close to the half hour mark they win an excellent free kick from the edge of the box kicked onto the barrier by Calhanoglu, who then risks giving Napoli the chance to double their lead, forcing Acerbi into a desperate split to anticipate Kvaratskhelia on the verticalization of Lukaku. In the 43rd minute the protagonist of the Nerazzurri equalizer was Calhanoglu himself: the Turk unleashed a dazzling right-foot shot from distance which Meret could only manage to touch. In the second half Inzaghi’s team started more aggressively, in the 52nd minute they chipped a post with Dimarco and about twenty minutes later they found the opportunity to take the lead: the referee whistled a penalty for an uncertain contact between Anguissa and Dumfries, but from Calhanoglu makes his first mistake since he joined Serie A by hitting the woodwork. In the end, the Neapolitans had the match point on the right foot of the newly introduced Simeone, who turned Ngonge’s low cross towards the goal, missing the big target by centimeters.