McTominay and De Bruyne inspire Napoli past Inter to reclaim Serie A top spot

Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne were on target as reigning Serie A champions Napoli defeated Inter Milan to move back to the summit of the table, Sport360NG reports.

At the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, De Bruyne’s first-half penalty gave Antonio Conte’s side the lead before McTominay and Frank Anguissa struck in the second period to seal a 3–1 victory, Napoli’s first win in three matches following a league loss to Torino and a heavy 6–2 midweek defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

However, there was cause for concern as De Bruyne, who has now netted four times in eight appearances since joining from Manchester City, limped off shortly after converting his spot-kick.

Inter started brightly, with Lautaro Martínez forcing a sharp early save from Napoli goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić. But the hosts went in front in the 33rd minute when De Bruyne coolly converted from the spot after Henrikh Mkhitaryan tripped Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the area. Both midfielders were withdrawn soon after the incident, with Inter manager Cristian Chivu opting for an early change.

The visitors threatened an equaliser late in the first half when Denzel Dumfries’ powerful header clipped the post, but Napoli extended their advantage nine minutes after the restart. McTominay latched on to Leonardo Spinazzola’s long pass and drilled a precise first-time finish beyond Yann Sommer from the edge of the box.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu pulled one back for Inter from the penalty spot following a handball by Alessandro Buongiorno, but Anguissa restored the two-goal cushion just minutes later to secure the win.

The result marked Napoli’s sixth victory in eight league matches and lifted them one point clear of AC Milan at the top of Serie A.

McTominay, who also scored in Napoli’s title-clinching win over Cagliari at the end of last season, once again proved decisive against Inter, the team they edged out by a single point to lift their fourth Scudetto.

Roma, who host Sassuolo on Sunday, could join Napoli on 18 points if they claim victory.