Ghoulam is shown a late yellow card for a mistimed tackle in midfield.
90'
The referee indicates an additional three minutes at the end of the 90 for stoppages.
88'
INSIGNE GOES OVER! The substitute turns on the edge of the penalty area and fires an effort towards the far corner – just missing the target as it didn’t curl enough!
84'
S. Luperto enters the game and replaces K. Koulibaly.
Koulibaly has been on a yellow card since the ninth minute – but it has not affected his performance at all. He’ll finish the match six minutes early as Luperto is his replacement.
83'
Candreva powers into the penalty area and blasts a shot towards Karnezis, who keeps his palms strong as he punches it away.
81'
Penalty goal scored by M. Icardi for Inter Milan!
ICARDI SCORES! 4-1! The striker is calm in his run-up as he finishes neatly into the bottom-left corner – sending Karnezis the wrong way.
80'
A. Younes enters the game and replaces D. Mertens.
Younes is given a 10-minute run-out as he replaces Mertens.
79'
A. Candreva enters the game and replaces I. Perišić.
Perisic is off for Candreva shortly after going down 4-0.
78'
Fabián Ruiz has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by D. Mertens.
Mertens adds an assist to his earlier goal, with his leading pass for Ruiz the crucial connection.
RUIZ MAKES IT 4-0 AS INTER FALL APART! Ruiz is allowed to walk into the penalty untroubled by defenders after an excellent pass from Mertens, before dispatching a cannon towards goal, beating Handanovic at the near post!
Minute
Description
76'
L. Insigne enters the game and replaces A. Milik.
Milik is called to the bench with 19 minutes remaining, as Insigne is chosen to replace him.
73'
Spalletti looks a resigned figure on the touchline as his gamble to go with two strikers at half-time looks to have depleted his midfield. The warning signs from the first half have not been corrected, as it looks like Inter will have to get it done in matchweek 38.
71'
Fabián Ruiz has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by K. Malcuit.
Malcuit followed the attack perfectly and was in a perfect position to provide the assist to Ruiz after Handanovic's bobble at the near post.
RUIZ ADDS TO INTER’S MISERY! 3-0 NAPOLI! Mertens plays a lovely cross to the far post for Milik who is unable to get his volley past Handanovic. The near-post save doesn’t clear the danger as Malcuit is first to it, sending a pass across the face of goal for Ruiz to finish into an open goal!
65'
Brozovic puts in a wonderful corner to the edge of the six-yard box for Icardi, who rises highest but is unable to turn his header towards goal.
63'
Inter’s prospects of securing Champions League football ahead of the final week is looking slimmer and slimmer by the minute. Inter will need to win against Empoli in their final match, or hope Milan are unable to beat SPAL in their fixture should current results hold.
61'
D. Mertens has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by José Callejón.
Callejon’s superb cross from a difficult central position is the assist for Merten’s lead-doubling goal!
NAPOLI DOUBLE THE ADVANTAGE ON THE HOUR! 2-0! It’s an indictment of the Inter defence that the diminutive Mertens is allowed to power a header past Handanovic, after Callejon’s beautiful delivery into the penalty area hangs just high enough for Mertens to get in between Miranda and Skriniar and finish with ease!
60'
It’s been a poor first 15 minutes to the second half for Inter who, despite going with two strikers, have yet to manage a shot on Karnezis’ goal. Despite having the majority of possession before and after the interval, they still find themselves a goal down with little hope of an equaliser.
58'
M. Vecino enters the game and replaces R. Gagliardini.
Inter’s second change comes two minutes before the hour mark as Gagliardini is replaced by Vecino in midfield.
57'
Malcuit drives a low cross into the penalty area for Milik, but Miranda gets there first to put it away from goal. The follow-up effort from distance goes wide as Allan is unable to combine power with accuracy.
55'
Martinez is down holding his leg after a late tackle from Malcuit. The referee awards Inter a free-kick inside Napoli’s half, but the danger is settled by the always steady Koulibaly.
51'
The half-time substitution is an attacking one for Spalletti, as he’s hoping that using two strikers will lead to an equaliser. Martinez and Icardi aren’t usually used in tandem, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.
49'
Allan gets yellow.
The referee brandishes his second yellow card in two minutes, this time booking Allan for his lunge on Martinez.
48'
R. Nainggolan gets yellow.
Nainggolan’s frustration gets the better of him again as he’s late into a challenge on Malcuit – stepping on the right-back’s foot in the process. It’s a yellow for the Inter midfielder.
46'
M. Icardi enters the game and replaces M. Politano.
A change at half-time sees Icardi introduced in place of Politano.
Inter get the second half underway from the kick-off!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: NAPOLI 1-0 INTER.
45'
The fourth official indicates a single minute of additional time at the end of the first half.
43'
UPDATE: Josip Ilicic has given Atalanta the lead over Juventus in the other Serie A fixture of the evening, which means Inter currently sit fourth – one point ahead of Milan in fifth.
39'
Inter’s lengthy build-up ends in a Napoli goal-kick as Nainggolan’s hammered shot from outside the penalty area flies harmlessly wide.
34'
Inter push forward on the attack down the right through D’Ambrosio – but Martinez’s shove on Albiol in the centre warrants a free-kick to Napoli according to referee Daniele Doveri – ending Inter’s attack.
32'
The corner is taken short to change the angle of the delivery, but Karnezis has no trouble with the save at his near post.
31'
Perisic attacks the penalty area from the left and sends a low cross into the six-yard box for Martinez, but Koulibaly’s sliding challenge puts it out for a corner.
30'
D’Ambrosio wins a free-kick in his own half after attempting to relieve the pressure of another Napoli attack. The visitors are being confined to their own half, with their striker having to put in a shift as well to win the ball back.
28'
Inter have made it far too easy for Napoli in the opening 30 minutes of play, as numerous losses of possession in key areas have doomed the Nerazzurri to a 1-0 deficit. Things could be a lot worse however and Inter are no doubt still in with a chance – but they’re going to have to do much more than they have in attack where they’ve looked static.
26'
Nainggolan is all over Allan in midfield and tugs the Napoli player down to the ground – giving away a free-kick in a show of frustration.
24'
Ruiz once again latches onto the ball in midfield and charges into the penalty area. After having his angle cut down significantly, he opts to lay it off for the oncoming Ghoulam, whose side-footed effort from the edge of the area flies high over the bar.
22'
The worst has come true for Spalletti after Zielinski’s wonder-goal has Napoli in the lead. Inter haven’t shown much going forward, which should cause the manager some concern as they’ve yet to register a shot on target.
20'
Napoli take a short corner which finally ends at the foot of Zielinski in roughly the same area as his goal just minutes prior. He doesn’t go for the spectacular on this occasion, instead pushing it to the right flank to continue the build-up.
16'
P. Zieliński has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by Fabián Ruiz.
Ruiz showed great awareness to win the ball in midfield before laying it off to Zielinski for the assist.
AN INCREDIBLE STRIKE MAKES IT 1-0 NAPOLI! Sloppy again from Inter as a good bit of defending from Perisic on the wing fuels the Napoli attack after Asamoah’s careless pass into midfield. Ruiz latches onto the loose ball and passes it to Zielinski – who rockets a shot into the top corner from well outside the area! No goalkeeper is saving that shot!
13'
Inter look determined to play out from the back at goal-kicks, but Napoli’s intensity in their press is leading to all kinds of problems. The Partenopei haven’t yet made their opponents pay – but it looks likely.
11'
Milik goes over from outside the area! A high press from Malcuit forces Inter to lose possession in their own half before the right-back pushes it ahead for Milik, whose early strike doesn’t trouble Handanovic.
9'
K. Koulibaly gets yellow.
The free-kick from Perisic is taken to the back post for Skriniar, who can only get enough of a touch to it to keep it in play, before Nainggolan passes backwards to restart the attack.
Politano gets into a good position on the right-hand side of the penalty area and gets tripped up by the trailing leg of Koulibaly. It’s a yellow card for the centre-back, and a free-kick in a good position for Inter.
7'
Some sloppy play in midfield almost allows Mertens to nip in and spark a counter-attack, but Brozovic is there to clean it up and keep Inter on the ball.
5'
The pressure this evening is squarely on the shoulders of Inter, who will be desperate to secure Champions League status ahead of matchweek 38. No doubt Spalletti would have instructed his side to attack with confidence, and seek an early goal to calm the nerves.
1'
Napoli get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Serie A fixture between Napoli and Inter!
It's job done for Napoli whose season is virtually over with two matches left, as manager Carlo Ancelotti finishes his first campaign with the Partenopei runners-up to Juventus. They have been no pushovers recently despite their secure status, winning their last three matches in Serie A.
Three points for the hosts in their last match at the Stadio San Paolo for the 2018/19 season would leave the race for the final two Champions League places wide open ahead of the last matchday. With Juventus against third-placed Atalanta set to kick-off concurrently with this fixture, Inter could potentially end the 37th round in fourth with a loss – one point ahead of rivals Milan. A win, alternatively, would guarantee a top-four finish.
Inter’s form has been positive in that they haven’t lost since a 1-0 to Lazio at the end of March, but with four low-scoring draws in seven games since, Inter’s issues off the field with Mauro Icardi has seemingly affected their goal-scoring form. A solid defence should provide a reliable foundation to push forward with – as Inter have conceded the least goals in Italy’s top flight, thanks in part to Samir Handanovic’s league-leading 17 clean sheets.
NAPOLI XI (4-4-2): Orestis Karnezis; Kevin Malcuit, Raul Albiol, Kalidou Koulibaly, Faouzi Ghoulam; Jose Maria Callejon, Allan, Fabian Ruiz, Piotr Zielinski; Arkadiusz Milik, Dries Mertens.
Let's take a look at how the two sides will be lining up today, starting with Napoli!
INTER SUBS: Matias Vecino, Andrea Ranocchia, Daniele Padelli, Mauro Icardi, Keita Bale Diao, Antonio Candreva, Cedric Soares, Joao Mario, Dalbert, Borja Valero.
INTER XI (4-2-3-1): Samir Handanovic; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Milan Skriniar, Kwadwo Asamoah; Roberto Gagliardini, Marcelo Brozovic; Matteo Politano, Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martinez.
The main question for Inter will be whether Icardi features, as the striker leads all Nerazzurri players in goals. Martinez has not featured much in the first half, though that is also partly down to a lack of service from the flanks. Spalletti will need to conjure up something in his half-time team talk, as Atalanta’s lead over Juventus has Inter down in fourth. Napoli have looked quite good as a unit despite the relative insignificance of the match, which will put even more pressure on Spalletti to make attacking changes to turn the tides of the match.
NAPOLI SUBS: Alex Meret, Mario Rui, Sebastiano Luperto, Nikola Maksimovic, Elseid Hysaj, Simone Verdi, Lorenzo Insigne, Amin Younes, Joao Piai.
That concludes our commentary of the Serie A fixture between Napoli and Inter! We hope you enjoyed it!
Napoli end their season away from home against Bologna, while Inter will have it all to do against an Empoli side still not sure of Serie A survival – with both matches to be played on May 26.
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