Inter Milan and Napoli... A Rare Match

Rome (AFP) – Argentine international striker Lautaro Martinez led his team, defending champions Inter Milan, to a dramatic comeback, overturning the result against visitors Napoli with a brace in a 3-2 victory at Milan’s San Siro stadium in a “rare match” during the third round of the Italian Serie A.

In the first match, Inter Milan was on the verge of suffering a decisive blow against Napoli, their longstanding bogey team. However, the Nerazzurri, who were trailing by a two-goal deficit from goals by Matteo Politano (50th minute) and Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund (53rd minute), snatched victory thanks to a brace from their captain Martinez.

After the match, Inter Milan’s Romanian coach Cristian Chivu said: “We had high-quality players on the pitch capable of changing the game.”

He added: “We took risks with our substitutions, and those risks paid off. When the score became 2-2, the match took on a character rarely seen in Italy, where teams usually tend to settle for a draw.”

In the second match, Roma asserted their dominance at the Olympic Stadium in the capital, but were repeatedly thwarted by the exceptional performance of Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who was in outstanding form.

Atalanta took the lead through Brazilian striker Ederson (47th minute) and maintained their advantage until the 89th minute before collapsing in the dying moments. Spanish defender Mario Hermoso equalized in the 90th minute, and Matthias Suley then secured Atalanta’s third consecutive win with a goal in stoppage time (90+3).

With this result, Roma and Inter regained the top spot, each accumulating nine points, two ahead of Como, who had taken the lead after their 4-1 victory over Genoa in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Napoli, last season’s runners-up and managed by Massimiliano Allegri, remained stuck on three points.