Napoli vs. Inter Milan 1:1: Thrilling Serie A is heading to a stupendous final

Decision postponed! This is the two-word summary of our Match of the Week from March 1, 2025, SSC Napoli vs Inter Milan 1:1 (0:1). It was the duel between the second-place team and the defending champion. With this point, Inter stayed at the top of the table. However, with Napoli just one point behind and Atalanta Bergamo, three points behind, three teams can still win the title in Serie A. 

This incredible tension in the Italian top league could be felt in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The champions of 2023 and 2024 facing each other, it could only be a good match! 

Napoli and Inter, these two clubs have been so closely matched in recent years, with 3 draws and only one win for each side in the last 5 league matches.

Once again, we were left with unanswered questions from "Big Rom," Romelu Lukaku with Napoli and Lautaro Martinez with Inter.

Is Serie A the most exciting top-5 league?

It is clear that, except for Spain's La Liga, where FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid are tightly packed, no top-5 league in Europe is as exciting as Serie A.

In the German Bundesliga, record champions FC Bayern Munich are 8 points ahead of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen. England's dethroned record champion FC Liverpool is 13 points ahead of FC Arsenal (with one more game) on title course in the Premier League.

In France, record title holder Paris Saint-Germain is leading the Ligue 1 table with a 13-point advantage over their archrival Olympique Marseille.

Therefore: Who will be the Italian champion in 2025? This question is still far from being answered, even though SSC Napoli has lost some ground recently after the departure of key player Chwitscha Kwarazchelia (now PSG).

The 1:1 draw against Inter Milan was Napoli's fourth draw in the last 5 games, along with a surprising 1:2 loss against newly-promoted Como Calcio, which cost them the top spot in the table. In this match, "Big Rom" Lukaku had only 8 ball contacts. Accordingly, the Belgian was highly motivated going into the game against Inter. Lukaku recorded 29 ball actions and 33% of aerial duels won.

But that wasn't enough. The last victory for coach Antonio Conte's team came on May 25, 2025, against one of Italy's football giants, a 2:1 win over record champions Juventus Turin.

Napoli vs. Inter: A historic goal in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

"Exciting Scudetto," headlined Italy's football bible Gazzetta dello Sport, "Napoli were superior, but Inter remains the favorite."

Correct. Inter Milan almost emerged as the big winners in this absolute league clash. The "Nerazzurri" led from the 22nd minute with a goal from Federico Dimarco, 1:0.
His direct free-kick, converted with his left foot, was a historic goal.

Since the renaming of the Stadio San Paolo after the death of Napoli icon Diego Armando Maradona († 2020), no player had scored a free-kick with the left foot until now.

"We wanted to play perfectly"

Denmark's Philip Billing (87th minute) saved Napoli's title hopes with a follow-up goal from five meters against Inter's backup goalkeeper and Yann Sommer's replacement, Josep Martinez.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told Gazzetta dello Sport after the game: "Napoli was fresher than us. We wanted to play perfectly, but we didn't manage to do so."

Inter has not yet delivered the perfect match this season in Serie A's top games. They lost 0:1 in the "Derby d'Italia" at Juventus Turin (reported by event-breaks.com), the first match against Napoli ended in a 1:1 draw at San Siro, and they also couldn't win in both derbies against AC Milan (1:1 / 1:2). The only team they beat by a 4:0 scoreline at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on August 30, 2024, was current runner-up Atalanta Bergamo.

Who are the next home opponents of SSC Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona?

Napoli has some real "festival weeks" ahead in their upcoming matches. On March 9, 2025, they play at home against AC Florence. Next, they face AC Milan at home on March 30, 2025, and in the season finale on May 25, 2025, they will have the home advantage against Cagliari Calcio.

Who are Inter Milan's remaining home opponents in 2024/2025?

With bottom team Monza Calcio (March 8, 2025), Inter Milan has a supposedly easy home opponent before facing Udinese Calcio on March 30, 2025, a mid-table team, at San Siro. Inter's last home match will be on the penultimate matchday (May 18, 2025) against Lazio Rome.