3 things we learned from Inter Milan’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Napoli

Inter Milan and Napoli drew 2-2 in a dramatic match at the San Siro on Sunday night. The game was pretty uneventful until José Callejón opened the scoring with just over 10 minutes left, with goals proceeding to cascade in at both ends of the field.

Inter made the better start to the match, with their wing-back Joel Obi forcing the first save from Rafael after just five minutes. However, despite the nerazzurri being allowed to dominate possession, their attacking play lacked incision, and it took them 18 minutes until they seriously gave Napoli a scare.

That came courtesy of some smart invention from Hernanes, who sent Mauro Icardi through on goal -- only for Raúl Albiol to make a vital defensive intervention to deflect the Argentine’s shot over the crossbar. Icardi was again causing problems six minutes later, though he glanced Dodô‘s perfect cross narrowly wide of Rafael’s post.

Napoli sat back and looked to hit Inter on the break, with their first opportunity falling to Marek Hamšík just short of the half-hour. He looked to catch Samir Handanović off-guard with a cross-cum-shot drilled towards the near post, though the Inter keeper was on hand to make the save.

The final chance of the half was the best one, and once again it went Inter’s way. Hernanes made excellent contact on a snapshot from the edge of the penalty area, though his low effort crashed back off the Napoli post.

It took just five minutes of the second half before Napoli responded by testing the strength of Inter’s woodwork. A smart pass from Hamšík sent Lorenzo Insigne through on goal, though his attempt came back off Handanović‘s post. Inter replied with a dangerous corner a few minutes later, though Nemanja Vidić‘s header sailed over the crossbar.

As the clock ticked on, it looked increasingly like the game would end in a bore draw. However, with just over 10 minutes left, Napoli suddenly took the lead out of nowhere. Nemanja Vidić failed to deal with a loose ball from the left, and José Callejón was on hand to drive the ball back across Handanović for 1-0.

Inter coach Walter Mazzarri responded by throwing attack-minded midfielder Fredy Guarín into the mix, and his substitution paid immediate dividends. A corner from Dodô was flicked deep into the box, and Guarín was on hand to tap home from point-blank range. Suddenly, the game had come alive.

The next twist in the tale came in the very last minute of the regulation 90, when David López floated a cross hopefully into the Napoli penalty area, only for Callejón to brilliantly spring forward and volley the ball spectacularly past Handanović to give Napoli the lead for the second time. It was a goal worthy of winning any game. Except it didn’t.

Within seconds Inter had once again levelled it up, with a Dodô cross from the left met by a lethal Hernanes header in the penalty area. Rafael scrambled to meet the ball, but the Brazilian agonisingly couldn’t keep it out. That would prove to be just about the last action of a breathless match.

Inter Milan: Handanović, Juan Jesus, Vidić, Ranocchia; Dodô, Kovacic, Hernanes, Medel (Guarín 81’), Obi (Mbaye 58’); Palacio (M’Vila 88’), Icardi.

Goals: Guarín (82’), Hernanes (90+1’).

Napoli: Rafael; Britos (Ghoulam 75’), Koulibali, Albiol, Zúñiga; Inler, López; Insigne (Mertens 69’), Hamšík (Jorginho 62’), Callejón; Higuaín.

Goals: Callejón (79’, 90’).

1. These teams aren’t very good

This game made for a pretty good watch, but it wasn’t because of the high quality of football. Both of these sides were poor in and out of possession, and attempts on goal more often than not arose out of hopeful optimism or poor defending than any collective brilliance. The precision that made Juventus’ clash with AS Roma so riveting in the last round was completely absent here. There’s no doubt that Serie A is a two-horse race this season, and it might be a while before we see either Inter or Napoli seriously capable of challenging for the scudetto again.

2. Napoli’s stars are still struggling

Once again Napoli’s star players were pretty poor in this match, with Gonzalo Higuaín failing to open his account for the season, and captain Marek Hamšík substituted by Walter Mazzarri pretty early in the second half. As long as Rafael Benítez fails to get the best from Napoli’s best players, the partenopei are going to struggle to live up to expectations.

3. Inter’s midfield offers some reason for optimism

Despite this game having been marked by chaos and poor defending, Inter’s creative midfielders did actually manage to play pretty well. Hernanes capped his fine performance with a goal, and Mateo Kovačić demonstrated some of his playmaking talent. However, the pick of all of Inter’s players was young wing-back Dodô, who arrived from Roma in the summer with little expectation on his shoulders. He had a hand in both goals today, and could well be one to watch for the future.