Inter 1-0 Napoli: Dzeko broke the league leaders’ unbeaten run

2023 turned Serie A upside down as Inter proved Napoli are vulnerable! After 19 games without defeat in the league and eleven wins in a row, the champions bowed to “Giuseppe Meazza”. 1-0 for the 16th match day and thus give hope to their pursuers in the Scudetto race.

Simone Inzaghi opted to bench Lautaro Martinez in favor of a stronger attacking duo of Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku. At the same time, Luciano Spalletti used the two main “weapons” of his attack, Kvica Kvarachelia and Victor Osimen, whom he flanked with Matteo Politano and Piotr Zielinski in defence.

The “Partenopei” took care of the ball early and constantly tried to break through the “Nerazzuri’s” defence. They failed and couldn’t make many vertical passes in their otherwise excellent passing game.

The hosts were happy with this condition and, despite strong strikers, also had speed, especially from the wings. Counterattacks created more chances, with Alex Merrett making a great tackle on Federico Dimarco late in the 1st half.

The two coaches kept the same line-up after the break, but as the game’s image didn’t change, they recruited some substitutes. Martines and Robin Gozens for the hosts, Giacomo Raspadori and Irving Lozano for the visitors.

The pace stayed high, but the number of good opportunities decreased noticeably. The biggest of these was a Raspadori shot from inside the box in the 90th minute, which landed on Andre Onanas, who was in the right position. 1-0 to the end and Inter rekindled their interest in the title race, stopping the… unstoppable leaders.

INTER: Onana, Skriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian (76′ Dumfries), Barela, Tsalhanoglou, Mikitarian (83′ Gagliardini), Dimarco (65′ Gozens), Dzeko (76′ Correa), Lukaku (64′ Martines).

NAPLES: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rahmani, Kim, Olivera, Zambo Angisa (76′ Endombele), Lobotka (85′ Simeone), Zielinski (65′ Raspadori), Politano (65′ Losano), Osimen, Kvarachelia (76′ Elmas).

The results of the 16th round

• Salernitana – Milan 1-2 (83′ Bonaccioli / 10′ Leao, 15′ Tonali)
• Sassuolo-Sampdoria 1-2 (64′ Berardi / 25′ Gabiandini, 28′ Augello)
• Spezia – Atalanta 2-2 (8′ Gyasi, 31′ Empala Enzola / 77′ Heylund, 90+2′ Pasalic)
• Turin-Verona 1-1 (64′ Miranchuk / 45′ Jurik)
• Rome – Bologna 1-0 (6′ Pt. Pellegrini)
• Lecce – Lazio 2-1 (57′ Strefeza, 71′ Colombo / 14′ Immobile)
• Cremonese – Juventus 0-1 (90+1′ Milík)
• Florence – Monza 1-1 (19′ Cabral / 61′ Augusto)
• Inter – Naples 1-0 (56′ Dzeko)
• Udinese-Empoli 1-1 (70′ Pereira / 3′ Baldanji)

The highlights

Salernitana – Milan 1-2

Cremonese – Juventus 0-1

Lecce – Lazio 2-1

Rome 1-0 Bologna

Sassuolo – Sampdoria 1-2

Florence – Monza 1-1

Torino – Verona 1-1

Spezia – Atalanta 2-2

Udinese – Empoli 1-1

The program of the 17th game day

• 01.07. 16:00 Florence – Sassuolo
• 01.07. 19:00 Juventus – Udinese
• 01.07. 21:45 Monza-Inter
• 01.08. 1:30 p.m Salernitana – Turin
• 01.08. 16:00 Lazio – Empoli
• 01.08. 16:00 Spezia-Lecce
• 01.08. 19:00 Sampdoria – Naples
• 01.08. 21:45 Milan – Roma
• 01.09. 19:30 Verona – Cremonese
• 09/01 21:45 Bologna – Atalanta