Final score

15 May 2011 20:45

Napoli
46' Zuniga
1 - 1
Inter
15' Eto'o
Referee: De Marco / Linesmen: Viazzi, Liberti / Fourth official: Cervellera
Watch highlights
Minute Text commentary
47' After two minutes of injury time, the match between Napoli and Inter stands at 1-1
46' GOAL NAPOLI: ZUNIGA scores. Hamsik salvages a ball on the goal line and sends it into the box. Zuniga tries to control it, then Zanetti. Hamsik enters the fray, then Zuniga puts it away with his left
45' The referee adds two minutes of injury time
43' Maicon shoots on the turn and hits the post
43' Eto'o passes to Milito whose shot, deflected by Aronica, goes just wide of the post
41' Hamsik falis to reach Dossena's cross from the left
40' Lavezzi intercepts a ball from Ranocchi, then passes to Hamsik, who fails to latch on
38' Lavezzi fails to latch onto a dangerous ball from Zuniga
35' Hamsik, on the right, sends in a low cross that is cleared by Maicon
32' Julio Cesar goes low to smother a shot from Zunigo
30' Lavezzi crosses from deep for Hamsik. Cleared by Zanetti
29' Julio Cesar stretches to gather a shot from Campagnaro
28' Julio Cesar blocks a shot from Lavezzi at 20 meters away
27' Julio Cesar comes out to take a ball off the head of Maggio
24' Gargano's shot from distance leaves much to be desired
22' Milito on the left feeds the ball to Eto'o. He first-times it to Kharja who can't manage to control the pass
21' Zuniga tries from distance, but his shot goes wide
20' Lavezzi puts pressure on Julio Cesar who clears the ball with some difficulty
17' Kharja on the left sends the ball inside to Eto'o, but he's thwarted by Aronica
15' Goal Inter: ETO'O scores on an assist from Milito. It's an unstoppable right-footer from the Cameroonian, and his 35th goal of the season
14' Maggio on the left tackles Nagatomo
13' Maggio crosses from the right, Julio Cesar comes out to grab the ball
9' Backheel from Kharja, and Eto'o's right-footer goes over the bar
8' Milito advances down the left and is closed down by Maggio
4' Zuniga steals the ball from Zanetti and releases Zavezzi, who is flagged for offside
2' Lavezzi breaks into the box and shoots with his right. No problem for Julio Cesar
1' WELCOME TO THE STADIO SAN PAOLO. We're all set for Napoli v Inter, in Week 37 of the Serie A 2010/11 season
1' The kick-off is taken by Napoli
1' Against Napoli, Leonardo chooses Ranocchia and Materazzi as the central defensive pair in front of Julio Cesar in goal, with Maicon and Nagatomo as the full-backs. Zanetti, Cambiasso, Kharja and Thiago Motta are in midfield, with Milito and Eto'o as the forwards
Minute Text commentary
47' After two minutes of injury time the match between Napoli and Inter finishes 1-1. With 73 points the Nerazzurri cement themselves in 2nd place. Napoli secure third place
45' The referee adds two minutes of injury time
38' Substitution for Napoli: Dossena comes off for Vitale
37' Kharja intercepts the ball from Gargano and releases Milito, but Yebda sweeps it up
35' A header from Yebda arrives in the hands of Julio Cesar
33' Substitution for Napoli: Hamsik comes off for Sosa
32' Substitution for Inter: Ranocchia comes off for Samuel. It is the first time back on the field for the Argentine since 6 November 2010
30' Substitution for Inter: Cambiasso comes off for Mariga
28' Kharja flicks on for Maicon. His right-footer shot is blocked
27' Maicon closes down Gargano
25' Substitution for Napoli: Zuniga comes off for Yebda
24' Dossena crosses from the left, but Julio Cesar claims it
22' Nagatomo sends an excellent cross from the left to Milito, but De Sanctis beats him to the ball
17' Free kick taken by Kharja. The ball goes into the box but Thiago Motta can't get to it
15' Substitution for Inter: Eto'o comes off for Pazzini
11' Maggio goes down the right and feeds Zuniga, who shoots on the run. Ball goes wide
9' Dossena crosses from the left to Maggio. Nagatomo challenges, then the ball goes to Julio Cesar
8' Lavezzi attempts to find Maggio, but the ball goes out for a goal kick
5' Julio Cesar saves a shot from Hamsik
4' Milito beats three players and lets fly with a left-footer. Excellent save by De Sanctis
1' The second half begins without substitutions
Zanetti
6.53
6.53
Materazzi
5.97
5.97
Cambiasso
6.26
6.26
Julio Cesar
6.27
6.27
Samuel
8.34
8.34
Maicon
6.16
6.16
Milito
6.84
6.84
Motta
5.29
5.29
Eto'o
7.94
7.94
Mariga
6.02
6.02
Ranocchia
6.07
6.07
Pazzini
6.19
6.19
Kharja
5.76
5.76
Nagatomo
7.21
7.21
Average rating 6.49
7 shots on target 3
4 shots off target 2
6 fouls committed 5
1 corners 4
2 offsides 1
46% ball possession 54%
Leo v Napoli: Leonardo undefeated against Napoli both as a coach and as a player

Just like the meetings between Leonardo and Mazzarri, tonight will be the fifth competitive match, with the Brazilian coming out undefeated, with a tally of 1 victory and 3 draws. Leonardo never lost to Napoli as a player either, winning once and drawing twice.

Mazzarri v Inter: the coach has won only once in 15 matches

There have been 15 previous meetings between Mazzarri and Inter with the current Napoli coach winning only one of these: in Coppa Italia when Sampdoria beat Inter 3-0 on 4 March 2009. The Nerazzurri have won 7 times and there have been 7 draws.

Mazzarri v Leonardo, the Nerazzurri coach is unbeaten

This is the fifth competitive match between the coaches of the two teams and Mazzarri has never won: three draws and one victory by 3-1 for Leonardo on 6 January 2011 which was also his official debut on the Inter bench, after he took over from Benitez during the Christmas holidays.

The Nerazzurri goal cooperative

Inter are one of the four goal cooperatives in Serie A 2010/11 along with Bari, Catania and Genoa, with 15 of their players getting on the scoresheet. The 15 Nerazzurri goalscorers are: Cambiasso, Chivu, Coutinho, Eto’o, Kharja, Lucio, Maicon, Milito, Muntari, Nagatomo, Pandev, Pazzini, Sneijder, Stankovic and Thiago Motta.

Inter haven't scored at Napoli for 501 minutes

The last goal to be scored by Inter at Napoli dates back to 18 October 1997, when the Nerazzurri won 0-2. Inter's second was actually an own-goal by Turrini on 69 minutes. Following that, the remaining 21 minutes of that match were goalless. Inter didn't score and went on to lose all of the league matches 1-0 in the 2000/01, 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons as well as a 0-0 draw in 2009/10. Add to this another 0-0 after extra time in the Coppa Italia 2010/11 and you come up with a total of 501 minutes since Inter last scored at the Stadio San Paolo.

Second-half sprints by Napoli and Inter

Napoli and Inter are the two Serie A 2010/11 teams who have picked up more points in the second half compared with the first-half scoreline: +25 points for the Nerazzurri, who are on top of this table and +18 for the Neapolitans who are second.

Napoli's lack of discipline compared to Inter's fair play

Napoli is one of the three teams in this season's Serie A, along with Brescia and Chievo Verona, to have picked up most yellow cards: 89 out of 36 matches. Inter is the Serie A 2010/11 team to have been shown the fewest yellow cards, with 56 to date.

Napoli in the Champions League after 21 years

Napoli are already certain of taking part in next season's Champions League - the third time in their history they have qualified for Europe's most important club competition (European Cup/Champions League) - but it remains to be seen whether they will access the group stage directly (if they finish 2nd or 3rd) or go into the August play-offs (4th). Their previous outings in the European Cup came in 1987/88 and 1990/91, after the club's two Scudetto successes.

2010/11: most Serie A wins in a season for Napoli

Napoli have won 21 of their 36 games played so far in Serie A 2010/11, which means they have equalled their record for most wins in a top-flight season since the unified national league began. The Neapolitans previously achieved 21 wins in 1989/90 - the year of their second Scudetto - but that could still be beaten this year.

Napoli at the San Paolo: one defeat in last 18 matches

Napoli have lost just one of their last 18 competitive matches played at the Stadio San Paolo: on 17 April Udinese left Naples with all 3 points after a 1-2 win. In the other 17 games in that period there have been 13 wins and 4 draws (all 0-0).

DA IMPLEMENTARE
wins(20) draws(22) defeats(39)

NAPLES – Inter's Serie A 2010/11 Week 37 fixture against Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo ended in a 1-1 draw.

Mazzarri's team was looking for a point to reach the Champions League without going through the preliminaries, but Inter were the first to score with a beautiful right-footed shot from distance by Eto'o that beat De Sanctis to open the scoring on the 15-minute mark. Milito and Maicon came close to doubling the lead towards the end of the first half, but a deflection from Aronica and the post denied a goal to the two Nerazzurri players. Zuniga found the equaliser (but doubts remain about Maggio's position during the build-up), taking advantage of a mix-up in the box to beat Julio Cesar with his left in first-half stoppage time.

FIRST HALF - With Lucio, Sneijder and Stankovic unavailable, Leonardo chose Materazzi in central defence alongside Ranocchia, while Kharja formed the midfield line together with Zanetti and Cambiasso. Thiago Motta played as an attacking midfielder just behind the strike force of Milito, preferred to Pazzini, and Eto'o. For Napoli, Cavani was suspended; Lavezzi played as the lone striker in front of Zuniga and Hamsik, who after 2 minutes sped in front of Thiago Motta to force a save from Julio Cesar, well-positioned centrally. Eto'o responded in the 9th minute with a right-footer from distance, after a backheel from Kharja, which flew just over the crossbar. Not happy with his first try, the Inter striker decided to have a go again in the 15th minute, and this time he made no mistake: off an assist from Milito, he controlled with his chest and blasted the ball with the laces of his right foot inside the post, leaving De Sanctis nothing but a helpless spectator. With this stunner, Eto'o put the Nerazzurri in the lead and notched his 35th goal of the season. Seven minutes later, however, it was Milito at the centre of the action that nearly doubled the lead for Inter when he passed to Kharja in the heart of the box, but the Moroccan failed to control the ball in front of the goal. In the 29th minute Lavezzi tried to surprise Julio Cesar with a crisp shot. The Brazilian 'keeper blocked it with his body and then seconds later kept out an effort from Campagnaro. The Inter 'keeper then went low to save Zuniga's effort (32), but Napoli's siege was showing no mercy, as Hamsik nearly broke through (36) as well. Milito came close to adding Inter's second in the 43rd minute with a diagonal shot deflected out by a determined Aronica. Immediately following a corner by Inter, Maicon hit the post with a curling shot from outside the box. Napoli's equaliser then arrived in injury time (46) through Zuniga who, taking advantage of some defensive imprecision and confusion in Inter's box, fired home amid the pinball-like play to bring the score level at 1-1. However, there were some doubts concerning Maggio's position when he entered the pitch from beyond the goal line to recover the ball after a touch from Zanetti that could have been involuntary. Both teams then entered the dressing room after 2 minutes of injury time.

SECOND HALF – There were fireworks at the start of the second half when De Sanctis made an outstanding save on a diagonal shot from Milito, pushing it onto the crossbar (48). Lavezzi immediately responded at the other end with a central shot that Julio Cesar dropped low to block (50). Zuniga threatened in the 56th minute after a long pass from Aronica to Lavezzi and a touch from Maggio, but his effort finished wide to the left of Julio Cesar. In the 60th minute Pazzini came on for Eto'o, and Mariga then replaced Cambiasso fifteen minutes later. But in the 77th minute came the long-awaited moment of Walter Samuel, who had been absent since 6 November (Inter v Brescia), stepping onto the pitch. After 2 minutes of injury time, Napoli v Inter ended at 1-1. Inter now sit at 73 points in the standings and Napoli finish in third place, mathematically qualified for the Champions League.

Napoli 1-1 Inter (HT: 1-1)
Scorers: Eto'o 15, Zuniga 45+1.

Napoli: 26 De Sanctis; 14 Campagnaro, 28 Cannavaro, 6 Aronica; 11 Maggio, 23 Gargano, 5 Pazienza, 8 Dossena (3 Vitale, 83); 18 Zuniga (21 Yebda, 70), 17 Hamsik (77 Sosa, 78); 22 Lavezzi.
Unused subs: 1 Iezzo, 4 Ruiz, 13 Santacroce, 99 Lucarelli.
Coach: Walter Mazzarri.

Inter: 1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 15 Ranocchia (25 Samuel, 77), 23 Materazzi, 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso (17 Mariga, 75), 14 Kharja; 28 Thiago Motta; 22 Milito, 9 Eto'o (7 Pazzini, 60).
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 26 Chivu, 27 Pandev, 29 Coutinho.
Coach: Leonardo.

Referee: Andrea De Marco (Chiavari).
Booked: Zuniga 45+1.
Added time: 2+2 minutes.

starting lineups

De Sanctis 1 Julio Cesar
Campagnaro 13 Maicon
Cannavaro 15 Ranocchia
Aronica 23 Materazzi
Maggio 55 Nagatomo
Gargano 4 Zanetti
Pazienza 19 Cambiasso
Dossena 8 Motta
Zuniga 14 Kharja
Hamsik 22 Milito
Lavezzi 9 Eto'o

substitutes

Iezzo 12 Castellazzi
Vitale 7 Pazzini
Ruiz 17 Mariga
Santacroce 25 Samuel
Yebda 26 Chivu
Sosa 27 Pandev
Lucarelli 29 Coutinho