Napoli 1-1 Inter Milan: Eriksen salvages a point for Inter after a second-half equaliser

Christian Eriksen-Inter Milan

The Serie A leaders dropped points for the first time in two months.

Inter Milan picked up a 1-1 draw against Napoli, with Christian Eriksen firing in the equaliser in the second half.

Napoli pushed Inter backwards from the very beginning as they enjoyed more possession. However, Inter had a couple of good chances around the half-hour mark to go upfront but Matteo Darmian proved ineffective despite getting the ball in a more dangerous position while Lukaku’s shot hit the top of the post.

The home side took the lead after a terrible mistake from Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, who failed to hold onto Lorenzo Insigne’s cross before the ball rolled into his own nets.

Inter got back on the level terms after Christian Eriksen firing in a thunderous strike from his left foot to beat Alex Meret. The Danish midfielder had a busy day at the office as he was often seen initiating the attacks from the defensive third and arriving late to the box.

Nonetheless, the league leaders were living dangerously in the final quarter as Matteo Politano’s strike was denied by the woodwork and Napoli also had a penalty turned down by VAR, who deemed Stefan de Vrig’s tackle on Zielinski as clear.

The draw marked Inter’s first in the space of two months and still they are nine points clear of AC Milan.

Inter have earned the most points in the top-5 European leagues 2020/21 so far: 75 (overtaking Manchester City, 74).
Since he joined Inter in 2012/13 season, Samir Handanovic has scored the joint-most own goals in the top-5 leagues among the goalkeepers (four, level with Anthony Lopes). [Opta] #NapoliInter

Meanwhile, Napoli failed to go on level with defending champions Juventus, who are currently fourth in the table.

It was an off night for Romelu Lukaku as he failed to create more danger in the attack. Furthermore, Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly successfully contained the Belgian for the larger parts of the game. The same goes for Achraf Hakimi, who threatened Napoli’s defence with his pace but proved futile in the final third.