Napoli abandons Champions League for Serie A; beats Inter 3-1 to reclaim top spot, Lautaro fires four shots but goes scoreless.

At midnight on October 26 Beijing time, Serie A’s 8th round brought a premature title showdown as Napoli played Inter Milan at home. With AC Milan losing points to bottom-ranked Pisa, whoever won this match would take the lead in the standings.

In the first half, Acerbi conceded a penalty, which De Bruyne converted to break the deadlock before he was substituted due to injury. Napoli led 1-0 at halftime; in the second half, McTominay volleyed to extend the lead, Çalhanoğlu scored a penalty to pull one back, but Anguissa sealed the victory with a goal.

In the end, Napoli defeated Inter 3-1, ending Inter’s four-game winning streak and halting their own two-match losing run, successfully reclaiming first place in the Serie A standings!

For Napoli vs Inter, Conte set up a 4-1-4-1 formation with Neres pushing forward, Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, and McTominay forming the midfield four, Guilherme as the sole defensive midfielder, Di Lorenzo, Juan, Buongiorno, and Sirnazzola in defense, and Vania in goal. The starting lineup’s market value was €236 million. Ciro deployed a 3-5-2 for Inter, with Lautaro and Borré upfront, Di Marco, Mkhitaryan, Çalhanoğlu, Barella, and Dumfries in midfield, Bastoni, Acerbi, and Akanji as three defenders, and Sommer in goal, with a total starting value of €396 million.

Conte had a clear goal and knew his single-core processor business weakness well, so he directly let Napoli give up the Champions League to focus fully on the Serie A title. Don’t you think that’s clever? In this match, Napoli showed restraint at home, playing solid counterattacks. Inter dominated possession and shots but had an aging squad with forwards lacking technical finesse. Lautaro took four shots, tied for the most on the field, but only one was on target and he was ineffective; the other starting forward, Borré, had just one shot all game. Napoli’s counterattack was sharper and more efficient, with two former Manchester City players scoring. After De Bruyne’s penalty and subsequent injury, McTominay volleyed to showcase his attacking midfielder traits again, and Anguissa scored the decisive goal, earning an 8.5 rating—the only player above 8. On Inter’s side, only Çalhanoğlu scored above 7 with a 7.2.

Throughout the match, Napoli had only 44% possession and seven shots, less than half of Inter’s 15, though both teams had three shots on target. Lautaro worked hard and fought intensely but his finishing was very poor. He raised Inter’s floor but also limited the Nerazzurri’s ceiling.