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SERIE A

Inter Milan Answer Napoli’s Challenge as Serie A Title Race Enters Crucial Month

By Dan Cancian

Published on: January 27, 2025

Antonio Conte threw down the gauntlet on Saturday night. “When you’re at Inter Milan, AC Milan, or Juventus, winning is the only option,” he said after Napoli came from behind to beat the Bianconeri 2-1 and open up a six-point gap over Inter.

Less than 24 hours later, the reigning Serie A champions had halved the deficit and confirmed they will not relinquish their Scudetto without a fight.

Inter’s 4-0 thrashing of Lecce left them three points adrift of Napoli with a game in hand over the Partenopei, who top the table with 53 points after 22 matches.

Atalanta, meanwhile, are four points further behind after beating Como 2-1 on Saturday afternoon to snap a winless run in Serie A that dated back to December 22.

Conte’s team may be setting a relentless pace, but Inter and Atalanta both refuse to go away. For now it’s the Nerazzurri‘s shadow that looms largest in Napoli’s rearview mirror after they made light work of Lecce on Sunday evening.

Davide Frattesi opened the scoring and Inter had two goals ruled out for offside at the Via del Mare, before Lautaro Martinez put his side 2-0 up with a superb effort just before half-time.

Denzel Dumfries continued his goalscoring form by adding a third in the second half, before Frattesi won a penalty which Mehdi Taremi converted to finally open his Serie A account.

Frattesi’s performance was particularly significant in the context of the transfer window. The Italy international has long been something of an unsolvable conundrum for Simone Inzaghi, who has struggled to accommodate the midfielder in his starting XI.

Up until Sunday, Frattesi had played merely 94 minutes of football in Serie A this season, a meagre return for a player who has established himself as a key figure for Luciano Spalletti’s Italy.

Limited as his chances may have been this season, Frattesi has seized them with purpose. Sunday was his first Serie A start since he scored twice against Empoli on October 30, before again finding himself relegated onto the bench, and all of his four league goals this term have come as a starter, one more than last season.

Roma came knocking early this month with the promise of regular football, a tempting offer for Frattesi, who was born in the Eternal City and came through the Giallorossi youth ranks but Inter made clear that they would not entertain bids lower than €45m.

“He’s fully aware of his importance to the team,” Inzaghi said. “Last season, he was a secret weapon for us, alongside Carlos Augusto and Kristjan Asllani. Their impact was immense despite limited playing time.

“With them on the pitch, we don’t miss the starters. Davide and I have a great relationship. He’s earned his place in the national team.”

Davide Frattesi (second right) celebrates the opening goal in Inter Milan’s 4-0 thrashing of Lecce (Photo by Ivan Romano/Getty Images)

If Frattesi made the most of a rare start, Martinez continued his purple patch.

Concerns over the Argentine’s form have evaporated with the Inter captain scoring in the last four games in all competitions and taking his tally for the season to 12 in 29 appearances.

The goal against Lecce was Martinez’s 112th in Serie A for Inter, taking him one clear of compatriot Mauro Icardi’s total and making him the second-most prolific foreign player in club’s history behind Stefano Nyers, who plundered in 133 goals in 182 matches between 1948 and 1954.

It appears only a matter of time before Martinez claims the accolade for himself and follows his manager in the history books, after Inzaghi celebrated his 200th Serie A win as manager on Sunday night.

The Inter boss reached the milestone in 332 matches, beating Massimiliano Allegri’s record by six games.

Ultimately, of course, the only accolade that matters to Inzaghi this season is the Scudetto and Inter have their work cut out to retain the title they won last term.

Napoli’s win over Juventus was their seventh in a row in Serie A and the second statement victory in a week after the Partenopei beat Atalanta 3-2 in Bergamo.

Just as they had done at the Gewiss Stadium, the league leaders had to come from behind, with Frank Zambo Anguissa’s header and Romelu Lukaku’s penalty cancelling out Randal Kolo Muani’s opener to condemn Juventus to their first league defeat of the season.

Having refuted the tag of title favourites for so long, Conte finally embraced Napoli’s status as league leaders on Saturday ahead of a potentially season-defining month.

“The numbers speak for themselves, especially compared to last year’s performance,” he said, referring to the fact Napoli finished 10th, 40 points behind Inter last season.

“We’ve managed to pull away from our rivals and establish a significant lead.”

A week after coming from behind to beat Atalanta in Bergamo, Napoli repeated the feat against Juventus (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Napoli’s lead will be tested as the fixture list shows no sign of relenting in the lead up to Inter’s visit to the Maradona on March 2.

The Partenopei face both Roma and Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico over the next month, with a potentially tricky trip to Como to come before they welcome the Nerazzurri, Fiorentina and Milan over the next four weeks.

Inter’s calendar is hardly for the faint-hearted either, with the Derby della Madonnina and a trip to Turin for the Derby d’Italia to come over the next three weeks, either side of Fiorentina’s visit to the San Siro.

“Napoli and Atalanta are doing something extraordinary, just as we are,” Inzaghi said. “They have fantastic teams and great managers. We have a lot of respect for them, but we’re not afraid. On July 13th, I said this would be a tight race until the end. And here we are.”

Strap yourselves in for a month that could decide the Scudetto race.

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