Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne were the stars as reigning Serie A champions Napoli defeated title rivals Inter Milan 3–1 to return to the summit of the league table on Saturday night.
De Bruyne opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was brought down by Henrikh Mkhitaryan inside the area.
However, the Belgian midfielder’s night was cut short shortly after the goal as he limped off with a suspected muscle injury.
Inter began the brighter side, with Lautaro Martínez forcing a strong save from Vanja Milinković-Savić early on, but Napoli grew into the game and took control after breaking the deadlock.
Nine minutes after the restart, McTominay doubled Napoli’s advantage with a stunning first-time finish from the edge of the box following a precise long pass from Leonardo Spinazzola.
The Scottish midfielder, who was instrumental in Napoli’s title charge last season, once again delivered in a big game.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu briefly gave Inter hope, converting a penalty after Alessandro Buongiorno handled inside the box.
Yet Napoli restored their two-goal cushion within minutes when Frank Anguissa powered home from close range to seal the win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The victory marked Napoli’s first in three matches, following a domestic defeat to Torino and a midweek Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven.
It was also their sixth win in eight league outings this season, pushing them one point clear of AC Milan at the top.
Roma, who play Sassuolo on Sunday, could join Napoli on 18 points if they secure victory in their fixture.
