Champions Napoli beat top-four chasing 10-man Inter 3-1
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Napoli earned a 3-1 home win against 10-man Inter Milan in Serie A on Sunday.
NAPLES (Reuters) - Champions Napoli struck through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Gianluca Gaetano to earn a 3-1 home win against 10-man Inter Milan in Serie A on Sunday.
They have now beaten all 19 Serie A teams in a single season for the first time, while Inter are third with 66 points, a point clear of Lazio, who visit Udinese later on Sunday.
Inter, who are two points ahead of fifth-placed AC Milan in the top-four race, had Roberto Gagliardini sent off for a second booking just before halftime after a late challenge on Anguissa.
It was their first defeat after eight straight wins and manager Simone Inzaghi said the dismissal presented them with an overwhelming challenge, considering their demanding schedule.
"There are great regrets, because we hadn’t allowed Napoli many chances, even if we let them have the ball. I knew we’d have more spaces in the second half but then we had that naive error of the red card," Inzaghi told DAZN.
"This was our 15th game in 50 days, so I need everyone in the squad to contribute during a frankly incredible fixture list. I had a great responses from those who stepped in but this defeat does slow our progress."
Napoli's aggressive start saw Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen seeking to add to his 23 goals. However luck wasn't on their side as several efforts narrowly missed the target or were cleared by the defence, denying the hosts an early lead.
Inter's task became more difficult though when Gagliardini got his marching orders after a second booking four minutes before the interval for a late challenge on Anguissa.
Striker Romelu Lukaku did burst into the box at the end of the first half but his effort struck the side netting.
Anguissa opened the scoring for Napoli in the 67th minute when he received the ball unmarked inside the box, turned and volleyed into the bottom corner of the net.
Lukaku equalised with a precise tap-in from close range in the 82nd before Napoli captain Di Lorenzo curled a shot into the top corner from outside the box three minutes later.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana came to Inter's rescue with a remarkable one-handed save from Matteo Politano's attempt before Gaetano scored a third for the hosts four minutes into stoppage time as he finished calmly past Onana in a one-on-one.
