Inter Mailand – Napoli: The Match Italy was waiting for...

Football trips Inter Milan and top matches at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium have their own flair. This was showcased during the top match in Serie A between Inter Milan and the league leaders SSC Napoli on November 10, 2024 (1:1) right before the international break. It was the eagerly anticipated duel between the Italian champions of the last two years and rightly the match of the week at event-breaks.com. 

"The Scudetto comes to San Siro, the big game between the first and the second in the table takes place at Meazza," headlined Italy's football bible Gazzetta dello Sport before the match. And Tickets Inter Milan were in high demand. Everyone wanted to be there.

It is generally true for home matches of Inter or AC Milan that you can often spot celebrities around the stadium. Against Napoli, Inter legends Samuel Eto'o, Christian "Bobo" Vieri (103 Serie A goals in 143 games), and record player Javier Zanetti (615 matches) were among the VIP spectators. 

Inter Milan – Always with plenty of Bundesliga involvement! 

On the pitch, there were also familiar faces from the Bundesliga. This time, Yann Sommer, former goalkeeper of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich, his former Gladbach teammate Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu (HSV and Bayer Leverkusen), Benjamin Pavard, who played for Stuttgart and Bayern, and former BVB playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan were in Inter coach Simone Inzaghi's starting lineup. 

A former Bundesliga player also had the first big chance: Pavard took a shot in the Napoli penalty area, but defender Alessandro Buongiorno blocked it at the last second. 

“He has goals in his blood” 

But then it was Napoli with Scott McTominay who shocked San Siro – 1:0 for the 2023 champions after 24 minutes.

"He is a midfielder with goals in his blood," praised the Munich-based Italy expert Christian Bernhard on DAZN, referring to the Scotsman whom Napoli had signed from Manchester United for 30 million euros. 

Inter did not remain silent. Calhanoglu responded with a dream goal to make it 1:1 (43rd minute) from 18 meters, reviving San Siro. 

World champion Lautaro Martinez had the first Inter chance after halftime with a backheel trick following a pass from Denzel Dumfries (48th minute). Shortly afterward, Federico di Marco narrowly missed from the edge of the penalty area.

Ex-HSV star misses penalty chance 

The game lived by its tension afterwards. The 1-1 score favored league leaders Napoli more than chasers Inter. However, the "Nerazzurri" kept pushing and won a penalty kick through Dumfries in the 73rd minute.

Calhanoglu stepped up – and struck the ball against the left post. What a scene! Since joining Inter, Calhanoglu had converted all previous 19 penalties across competitions. Mamma mia. 

Exciting Serie A 

Boos accompanied his substitution (77th minute): "Big Rom," Romelu Lukaku. The former Inter striker, now with Napoli, had no connection to the game for the visitors from southern Italy and is no longer well-received among the "Interisti," the "Nerazzurri" fans.

In the end, Lukaku and Napoli didn't mind; coach Antonio Conte's team kept their distance from Inter with a one-point lead. 

Serie A is more exciting than ever after the clash: just two points separate leaders Napoli and sixth-place Juventus Turin. 

When is the rematch between SSC Napoli and Inter Milan?
The two title contenders SSC Napoli and Inter Milan will meet again on March 2, 2025, at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Tickets are available here.