Inter fight back from 2 down to stun Napoli in San Siro thriller

The result keeps the defending champions perfect at the start of the season and ends their long wait for a league win over Napoli, while Massimiliano Allegri’s side are left devastated after letting a commanding position collapse.

Match highlight

Andy Diouf tested Alex Meret from outside the area inside 3 minutes, while Napoli responded through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, whose low shot forced Josep Martinez into a sharp save before Matteo Politano was denied from the rebound at a tight angle.

Anguissa remained Napoli’s most dangerous player in the first half, firing another effort wide around the middle of the half. The pace then slowed, though Napoli should still have gone into the break ahead when Rasmus Hojlund found space at the near post but failed to beat Martinez from close range.

Federico Dimarco struck the crossbar from a free-kick, but Cristian Chivu was clearly unconvinced by what he had seen. He brought on Marcus Thuram and new signing Curtis Jones at half-time in search of a response.

A defensive mistake deep in Inter territory allowed Alisson Santos to get a shot away. The effort was blocked, but the ball fell to Politano, who made no mistake at the second attempt to put Napoli ahead.

Only 3 minutes later, Inter switched off again. The ball dropped near the goal line, Hojlund found himself with too much space and calmly fired a low finish into the far corner to make it 2-0.

But Inter responded almost immediately. Napoli were caught showing the same defensive lapses they had just punished, allowing Dimarco to keep Piotr Zielinski’s inviting pass alive. Lautaro was waiting in the middle and finished to pull one back.

Inter threw wave after wave of attacks at Napoli, and Thuram came close when his diving header clipped the outside of the post. Napoli defended desperately, but with 8 minutes remaining, they finally broke.

Carlos Augusto sent a long ball forward, Thuram rose above his marker and headed home to make it 2-2.

Inter then pushed hard for a winner, although they were lucky not to fall behind again when Anguissa missed a huge close-range chance late on.

A scramble in front of goal ended with Lautaro reacting fastest at the back post, producing an instinctive close-range finish to complete an extraordinary turnaround and spark wild celebrations inside San Siro.

The win extends Inter’s Serie A home unbeaten run to nearly 10 months, with 10 victories and 3 draws, and puts them back at the top of the early table.

For Napoli, the pain will be severe. They had been unbeaten in their previous 7 Serie A away matches, but now leave Milan with a first defeat on the road and a second consecutive loss overall.