Como topples Napoli... and Fabregas: I learned from the Milan lesson

Inter secured their second consecutive victory at the outset of their title defense campaign, while Napoli suffered their first-ever home defeat in Serie A, falling 2-1 to Como in the second round.

In the opening match, after opening the season with a 4-1 home win over Monza, Inter returned from Cagliari victorious, albeit with a single goal. The decisive strike came early, a long-range effort from Turkish midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu, assisted by Nicolo Barella (9th minute).

With this win, Inter extended their unbeaten run against Cagliari to five consecutive victories and ten in their last eleven league meetings, positioning them well for their tough test next Saturday when they host Napoli.

At the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, against a team that surprised everyone last season under Spanish manager Cesc Fàbregas and qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth ahead of giants Milan and Juventus, and behind Atalanta, Napoli lost for the first time on home soil in their 14th visit to the southern club’s stadium in league competition.

Napoli had won the first 12 meetings between the two sides at the venue of last season’s runners-up, before stumbling for the first time in early November with a goalless draw.

Como took a well-deserved lead through Croatian Martin Baturina, who received the ball from Senegalese forward Assane Diao with his back to goal, turned, and fired into the net (17th minute). Napoli, managed by new boss Massimiliano Allegri, responded with an equalizer from Danish striker Rasmus Højlund, who feigned a pass inside the penalty area before shooting through a forest of legs into the net (30th minute).

However, a serious error by Cameroonian midfielder Franck Anguissa to Kosovar midfielder Amir Rrahmani allowed Como to regain the lead. Baturina intercepted the ball before passing to Greek forward Anastasios Dovizas, who scored (34th minute).

Fàbregas revealed after the match in an interview with DAZN that he learned his lesson from his two encounters last season with Allegri, when the latter was managing Milan (a draw and a defeat). “This win means a lot to us. I learned a lot from our last match against Milan... We read the game well. We delivered a great performance in the first half, and in the second half we realized we were facing champions, but we held firm.”