Chivu warning for Inter and Napoli: ‘Scudetto will be a fight to the end for 4-5 teams’

Cristian Chivu saw ‘two strong teams who did everything to win’ so the 2-2 draw between Inter and Napoli was ultimately fair. ‘It’s four or five teams for the Scudetto, a fight to the end.’

They were twice leading at San Siro through a Federico Dimarco angled drive and Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, but both times Scott McTominay clawed the Partenopei back into it for a 2-2 draw.

“I saw two strong teams who did everything to win this game,” Chivu told DAZN Italia.

“There are regrets that we twice took the lead and didn’t win, but it is never easy when you are up against a strong opponent. The regrets are that we probably didn’t keep a clear head to bring the result home, but Napoli deserve credit for never giving up and continuing to fight to the end to draw and even try to win.”

It was certainly an improvement on the last time these sides met, when Napoli emerged 3-1 winners at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in October.

“I liked the attitude, the determination to keep pushing forward, even if we over-did it and sometimes found ourselves exposed with the passes for Hojlund. We tried everything to create our football, aware that we were up against a strong opponent who could cause us problems,” continued Chivu.

“Napoli made it very tough for us in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but then we started to keep the ball for longer periods and that was the situation building up to the penalty.

“It’s a pity, but these are two great teams who raised the level of what modern football and Serie A can be. We are left with the regret of not winning a head-to-head match, but it will be one big battle to the very end, scrapping for every single point.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Inter 2-2 Napoli

It will feel like a missed opportunity for the Nerazzurri, who do maintain their lead at the top of the table with a three-point cushion from Milan and four over Napoli, while Juventus and Roma are closing in.

“I think it’s four or five teams in this title race, I don’t even know what the points gap is, just that we, Napoli, Bologna and Milan all have a game in hand. We all know this will be a fight to the end,” assured Chivu.

Those fixtures were rescheduled for the Supercoppa Italiana commitments and will be played on Wednesday and Thursday next week.

“We knew that Napoli would be aggressive, but we got a bit stretched out, so they played very well in short spaces with McTominay and Lobotka to find Politano or Elmas out wide. That was where we got it wrong on the pressing,” explained Chivu.

“We made some adjustments, and it ended in a draw, which I feel was the right result considering what we saw on the pitch.”

This is the first Serie A stalemate of the entire season for Inter under Chivu, after 14 victories and four defeats, and maintains their poor record in the ‘big’ games.

However, that goes back well beyond his tenure, as the Nerazzurri haven’t won any of the last 14 competitive meetings with Napoli, Milan or Juventus, managing seven draws and as many losses.