In a spirited Serie A encounter on Saturday, Napoli dashed Inter Milan’s hopes of solidifying their position at the top of the league. Substitute Philip Billing played the hero, netting a late equalizer in the 87th minute to clinch a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the reigning champions.
Despite the draw, Inter Milan stayed atop the Serie A standings, holding a slender one-point advantage over the determined Napoli. Meanwhile, Atalanta lingered in third place, three points adrift, following a goalless draw on their home turf against a struggling Venezia side.
Napoli, enduring a tough stretch with four matches without a win, had watched as Inter overtook them at the summit of the table. The match in Naples started brightly for Inter, with Federico Dimarco expertly executing a free kick in the 22nd minute, sending the ball arcing over the wall into the top left corner for the lead.
Romelu Lukaku, rekindling his form from two previous spells at the club, was presented with two golden opportunities to level the score but was thwarted, first by sending a shot into the sidenetting, and then having another blocked by defender Alessandro Bastoni.
However, just as Inter seemed poised for an essential victory, Napoli rallied. Stanislav Lobotka, linking effectively with Scott McTominay on the left, set up Billing, who had entered the fray less than ten minutes prior. Although Inter’s goalkeeper Josep Martínez initially parried Billing’s attempt, the ball kindly dropped back to the tenacious Denmark midfielder, who slotted the rebound home neatly into the bottom right corner.
In another part of Italy, Atalanta was left ruing missed opportunities that could have narrowed the gap atop the Serie A standings. Dominating the match against Venezia, a combination of wayward finishing and some stellar saves by Venezia’s shot-stopper, Ionut Radu, ensured the match remained scoreless.
The hosts came agonizingly close, hitting the woodwork twice towards the end of the first half. Davide Zappacosta’s angled strike, set up by Ademola Lookman’s inventive backheeled flick, rattled the right post, and shortly thereafter, Juan Cuadrado’s cross kissed the same post. Lookman had another heart-stopping moment, blazing a shot over the crossbar from close range with just minutes to go.
Despite Atalanta’s frustrations, the result was a valuable point for Venezia, who remain second from the bottom in the standings. Nevertheless, they edged closer to safety, now just five points shy of escaping relegation, buoyed by an impressive run, including a valuable draw against Lazio last week.
