Serie A | Inter 1-1 Napoli: Calhanoglu hero and villain

Hakan Calhanoglu scored a ferocious long-range strike to cancel out the Scott McTominay opener, but also fired an Inter penalty onto the upright as Napoli emerged with a point from San Siro.

There was one point separating the teams going into this showdown, with Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina also catching the Partenopei in top spot following this weekend’s results. Only Carlos Augusto was still out for the hosts, who rotated their squad in a midweek Champions League victory over Arsenal and had Francesco Acerbi starting for the first time since October 20. Stanislav Lobotka was back on the bench after a month, but Billy Gilmour kept his spot, as Antonio Conte and Romelu Lukaku returned to face their former club.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tested Yann Sommer early doors and Nicolò Barella’s first-time effort drifted just wide, but Napoli took the lead on a set play routine.

Amir Rrahmani flicked on the corner at the near post and McTominay got in front of Denzel Dumfries to tap in from point-blank range.

Hakan Calhanoglu’s misplaced pass almost gifted Napoli another goal with Lukaku sending Kvaratskhelia clear, as only a desperate Acerbi sliding tackle prevented the tap-in.

At the other end, Acerbi almost equalised when released by the Barella through ball, his angled drive parried by Alex Meret’s feet at the near post.

Inter equalised just before half-time with a ferocious strike from distance by Calhanoglu that swerved and dipped, the sheer power of it pushing Meret’s glove back as it flew into the far top corner.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s incredible strike that levelled the game up against Napoli 🚀😳

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 10, 2024

Lautaro Martinez attempted a back-heel flick at the dawn of the second half, but it was charged down by Matias Olivera, while Federico Dimarco’s snooker shot from the edge of the box clipped the outside of the upright.

Lobotka made his comeback, but Inter were taking more control of the initiative, Dimarco again testing Meret at the near post until Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa grazed Dumfries on the ankle inside the box for a penalty. Contact was minimal, but enough to ensure VAR could not intervene. Nonetheless, Calhanoglu fired it onto the base of the upright, the first of 18 penalties in the Inter jersey that he failed to convert.

Barella sent two defenders to ground with a dummy to put the ball onto his left foot, stinging Meret’s gloves from the edge of the area.

While Meret made a great reaction save on the Lautaro Martinez header, it wouldn’t have counted due to an earlier offside position in the move.

Napoli could’ve won it with the last kick of the game, as Cyril Ngonge turned Matteo Darmian to pull back from the by-line, but Giovanni Simeone fired over first time from 12 yards.

It means Napoli are still the sole Serie A leaders, but are only one point clear of a group that includes Inter, Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina.