Inter end Napoli winning streak in stalemate
MILAN: Inter Milan ended Napoli’s winning streak in Serie A with a goalless draw despite a hard-fought top of the table clash in Naples on Saturday.
Napoli -- who suffered Champions League disappointment at Manchester City this week -- now have 25 points from nine games to maintain their two-point advantage on second-placed Inter.
Champions Juventus and Lazio -- joint third on 19 points -- have a golden opportunity to narrow the gap on Sunday when they take on Udinese and Cagliari respectively.
Napoli had been on a winning streak in 13 Serie A games going back to last season.
But they came up against a stubborn Inter, chasing a first win in Naples in 20 years, and who underlined their title credentials in front of 50,000 spectators at the San Paolo Stadium.
Both teams had their goalkeepers to thank for the point with Inter’s Samir Handanovic and Napoli’s Pepe Reina pulling off some fine saves.
“These players must be complimented,” Inter coach Luciano Spalletti told Mediaset Premium after the match.
“Today we played a very good game, which could have been even better. Napoli were very strong, they did incredible things.
“Handanovic did what he needed to do. Reina also seemed good to me on a couple of occasions. We have suffered and we are keeping this (title race) close”. Napoli had more possession in the first half but little to show as Handanovic kept out a quickfire double from Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens. Reina also denied Inter’s Mauro Icardi and Borja Valero just before the break.
Napoli ran out of steam in the second half showing signs of fatigue after their European travels. Inter with no European commitments looked fresher, but Napoli earned the two best chances with Piotr Zielinski’s long range volley on 84 minutes and a Mertens effort six minutes later both cleared. ‘Great determination’ - “The feeling I have is that the team have more motivation in the league than Europe,” conceded Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri. — AFP