Napoli survive Dimarco's beauty and avoid gifting Inter the Scudetto

Napoli survived! Antonio Conte's men were on the verge of a defeat at home, as Inter Milan were in front since the 22nd minute and Federico Dimarco's wonderful free-kick effort.

Yet Simone Inzaghi opted for a rather defensive and hesitant strategy and, had it not been for Napoli's newcomer, a loanee from Bournemouth, Philip Billing, the Nerazzurri would have taken the whole spoils to Milan. Instead, the Dane netted a priceless leveller three minutes before the end and saved his team's hopes in the race for the Scudetto - 1-1.

The beginning of the derby was full of tension, as expected. After all, the Scudetto was possibly at stake. Napoli wasted a first decent chance in the 19th minute when Scott McTominay failed to turn Romelu Lukaku's timely pass into a deadlock-breaker.

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Three minutes later, the Scot was close to awarding Inter a penalty, but the Nerazzurri got only a free kick at a 20-meter distance from Alex Meret's goal. And it turned out to be a much better option for Simone Inzaghi's men, as Federico Dimarco unleashed a proper rocket into Meret's top-right corner, making it 1-0!

By the break, the Neapolitans were in control of the game, but neither Lukaku nor Giacomo Raspadori managed to put the ball behind Josep Martinez's back.

From the first ref's whistle after the break, the Nerazzurri were behind the ball, while Inzaghi refreshed all his team's lines by subbing in Benjamin Pavard, Piotr Zielinski, and Joaquin Correa. The crowd at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona had to wait until the 65th minute to see any team's decent attempt when Josep Martinez deflected McTominay's powerful effort.

On the other hand, Antonio Conte made his first substitution only in the 77th minute, replacing Raspadori with the loanee from AC Milan, Noah Okafor. However, his second sub, Philip Billing, who had replaced Billy Gilmour only eight minutes earlier, equalized in the 87th minute and punished the visitors for their hesitant and defensive second-half approach!

Even though the Nerazzurri kept the top of the Serie A table and one-point advantage over Napoli, Conte's crew can be much more satisfied with tonight's draw, considering that they were on the verge of defeat at home. This way, their hope for another Scudetto is still alive, though they'll have to rely on other Serie A teams to "trip" Inzaghi's squad.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 27

Friday

Fiorentina - Lecce 1-0 (1-0)

/Gosens 9/

Saturday

Atalanta - Venezia 0-0

Napoli - Inter 1-1 (0-1)

/Billing 87 - Dimarco 22/

22.45: (1.80) Udinese (3.60) Parma (4.60)

Sunday

14.30: (4.10) Monza (3.45) Torino (2.05)

17.00: (1.58) Bologna (3.80) Cagliari (6.50)

17.00: (1.95) Genoa (3.35) Empoli (4.20)

20.00: (1.93) Roma (3.45) Como (4.10)

22.45: (2.10) Milan (3.50) Lazio (3.80)

Monday

22.45: (1.30) Juventus (5.20) Verona (11.0)

***odds are subject to change***