Kevin De Bruyne‘s goal may have serious implications for Napoli, even though it propelled the defending champions to a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan, securing their top position in Serie A on Saturday.
Moments after netting a first-half penalty, De Bruyne seemed to strain a muscle, visibly grimacing and clutching the back of his right thigh. The ex-Manchester City midfielder looked distressed and required assistance from two medical staff to leave the pitch.
Additionally, Scott McTominay and Frank Anguissa added to Napoli’s score in the second half, with Hakan Çalhanoğlu netting a penalty for Inter in between.
This victory marked an important turnaround for Napoli following their recent losses to Torino and a disheartening 6-2 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. This win puts them one point ahead of second-placed AC Milan, who drew against Pisa on Friday.
Meanwhile, Inter, who had been enjoying a seven-match winning streak, fell to fourth place.
Napoli was already facing injury challenges, and the situation worsened when De Bruyne had to exit the match shortly after scoring his penalty decisively into the bottom corner.
The penalty was awarded when Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was ruled to have fouled Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who also faced injury issues and had to leave the field.
Near the end of the first half, Inter came close to equalizing when Alessandro Bastoni struck the crossbar and Denzel Dumfries clipped the post.
Following the break, Napoli’s McTominay extended their lead in the 54th minute, finishing off a swift counterattack after evading an offside trap, capitalizing on a fine pass from Leonardo Spinazzola into the bottom corner from just outside the box.
This marked McTominay’s third goal in just a week, having previously scored a brace against PSV.
Çalhanoğlu pulled one back for Inter just five minutes later, successfully converting a penalty after Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno handled a header from Lautaro Martínez.
Ultimately, Anguissa reinstated Napoli’s two-goal cushion in the 67th minute, finishing off another well-executed counterattack.