Napoli had the stage set to go to the 2020/21 champions Inter and run away with the Serie A title, but they endured a harsh reality check on Wednesday night. Backed by a noisy Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Inter outclassed league leaders and got a well-deserved 1-0 victory to leave the Neapolitans with just a five-point lead in the standings and announce the start of a frantic Scudetto race in which at least four teams have the ability to cross the finish line first.It was Edin Dzeko’s strike that settled the match when the Nerazzurri really could have won by a bigger margin in an encounter where Luciano Spalletti’s side offered little to suggest they hadn’t tasted defeat in their first 15 games.The Nerazzurri knew this was their chance to reignite the title race and plant a seed of self-doubt in Napoli’s heads. Simone Inzaghi’s team started brightly and should have been ahead inside the opening five minutes. Romelu Lukaku played Federico Dimarco on, but the wingback’s shot was off target. The Neapolitans relied on Piotr Zielinski and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia to create something. Still, Inter defenders Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij were vigilant to cut out any move before anyone could get a shot away and endanger Andre Onana. Dzeko played with great authority and combined well with Lukaku, the man he was supposed to replace when the Belgian left to join Chelsea in 2021. The former Bosnia and Herzegovina international striker created a chance for Matteo Darmian, but the ex-Manchester United right-back fired over the crossbar.Lukaku himself escaped his markers to run onto a Nicolo Barella but fired over five minutes before the break.Inter’s domination finally resulted in a lead ten minutes into the second period. Henrikh Mkhitaryan sprayed a superb pass onto the left wing, where Napoli left far too much space for Dimarco. He had all the time in the world to swing in a pinpoint cross for Dzeko to slam past Alex Meret with a firm header.Only then did the visitors start to seriously consider going forward. And once again, pretty much every their move was started by Kvaratskhelia. One of those moves saw the Georgian deliver a ball to Victor Osimhen, but the Nigerian tried to chest it down before shooting – something he didn’t have time nor space to do.Great save from Onana! pic.twitter.com/ak7rG76upQ— InterGIFs (@InterGIFs1908) January 4, 2023 Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa replaced Kvara with 15 minutes remaining as the Serie A leaders attempted to find an equaliser. Their best chance to do so was Giacomo Raspadori’s added-time attempt that was somehow kept out by Onana.The final whistle marked Napoli admit their first defeat of the season – and realise they still haven’t won the trophy they’d been waiting for since the Diego Maradona days.SERIE A – Matchday 16Wednesday Salernitana – Milan 1-2 (0-2)/Bonnazzoli 83 – Leao 10, Tonali 15/Sassuolo – Sampdoria 1-2 (0-2)/Berardi 64 pen – Gabbiadini 25, Augello 28/Spezia – Atalanta 2-2 (2-0)/Gyasi 8, Nzola 31 – Hojlund 77, Pasalic 90+3/Torino – Verona 1-1 (0-1)/Miranchuk 64 – Djuric 45/Roma – Bologna 1-0 (1-0)/Pellegrini 5 pen/Lecce – Lazio 2-1 (0-1)/Strefezza 57, Colombo 71 – Immobile 14/Fiorentina – Monza 1-1 (1-0)/Cabral 19 – Carlos Augusto 61/Cremonese – Juventus 0-1 (0-0)/Milik 90+1/Inter – Napoli 1-0 (0-0)/Dzeko 56/Udinese – Empoli 1-1 (0-1)/Pereyra 70 – Baldanzi 3/
