Napoli v Inter, home side lead at the break: saved by the woodwork twice | OneFootball

Napoli ends the first half ahead of Inter thanks to a goal by Kevin De Bruyne, but they must deal with a new physical issue for the Belgian playmaker. In the 33rd minute, referee Mariani—after consulting with the assistant—awards a penalty to the Neapolitans for a foul by Mkhitaryan on Di Lorenzo. De Bruyne steps up to the spot, preferred over Neres who had already grabbed the ball: the former Manchester City player doesn't miss and calmly beats Sommer, putting the azzurri ahead. Moments later, however, disaster strikes: De Bruyne stops, clutching his hamstring, visibly in pain, and is forced to leave the field due to injury. Zielinski comes on in his place, greeted by a long applause from the Maradona crowd.

In the first 45 minutes, Antonio Conte's team suffered from Inter's convincing start, which came close to taking the lead on three occasions: first with Bastoni, who hit the crossbar from a corner, then with Calhanoglu—whose shot went just wide—and finally with Lautaro, who was outwitted by Milinkovic-Savic in a one-on-one.

As the minutes passed, however, Napoli found more balance and patience, managing to control possession and strike at the right moment. Inter, on the other hand, continued to pose a threat from set pieces, hitting the woodwork again with Dumfries at the end of the half, but without changing the score. The first half ends with Napoli leading 1-0 thanks to the penalty converted by De Bruyne, but with the uncertainty of his new muscle injury that could complicate Conte's plans for the second half.

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Felice Torino

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.