Serie A | Inter 2-2 Napoli: McTominay double keeps thrilling Scudetto battle alive

Key Highlights

• (Photo by Marco Luzzani/)It took just nine minutes to break the deadlock, as ex-Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski robbed Scott McTominay to send Lautaro Martinez on the counter, Marcus Thuram had a disguised lay-off for Federico Dimarco’s angled drive from a very tricky position."Lautaro Martinez scuffed wide at the end of a well-worked team move, but Napoli equalised with their first real chance of the game.
• Eljif Elmas got down the left and rolled across for McTominay to get in front of Manuel Akanji and sweep in from six yards at the near post."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMcTominay stole it off Zielinski to test Yann Sommer, while Zielinski saw his effort accidentally charged down by Lautaro Martinez. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic fingertipped a Thuram towering header over the bar from Nicolò Barella’s cross, then was ready on Yann Bisseck’s turn at the near post.
• Remarkably, there were only four fouls awarded in the entire first half. Napoli nearly turned it around within minutes of the restart, as Akanji failed to cut out a long Milinkovic-Savic clearance, allowing Rasmus Hojlund to sprint clear on goal and see his angled drive skim the base of the far post. MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 11: Rasmus Hojlund of SSC Napoli heads the ball whilst under pressure from from Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale Milano during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
• (Photo by Marco Luzzani/)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMoments later, Giovanni Di Lorenzo steered a header off target from Leonardo Spinazzola’s cross, but there was a turning point. Henrikh Mkhitaryan battled inside the box and managed to prod the ball across for a Thuram back-heel flick to Dimarco, whose shot was charged down, then Alessandro Bastoni’s follow-up flew inches wide.
• However, VAR spotted that Rrahmani had trodden on Mkhitaryan’s boot in the move and didn’t touch the ball, so Inter received a penalty that Hakan Calhanoglu converted.