Five things learned from Inter 2-2 Napoli: McTominay, Conte, referee and more

Antonio Conte wanted to send a message to his players when he got sent off against Inter, but the Nerazzurri remain winless against direct rivals, and Scott McTominay will once again be among the frontrunners for the Player of the Season Award in Serie A.

The 2-2 draw between Inter and Napoli was one of the best games of the season in Serie A, and McTominay’s brace for the Partenopei kept the title race wide open in Italy’s top flight.

Football Italia was among the accredited media at San Siro last night: here are five things we learned.

The Scotland star played a fantastic, fantastic game. He was literally everywhere, in defence as well as in attack, as his two goals prove. Just a few numbers from Sofascore: 71 touches, 93% passing accuracy (just three errors), 100% long-ball accuracy, three shots on target, four interceptions and four clearances. He’s the heart and soul of this Napoli side and perfectly embodies what Conte wants from his team. As we pointed out during the Football Italia post-match show on YouTube live from San Siro last night, it’s hard to find another foreign player who’s had such a devastating impact in Serie A in recent years. Don’t be surprised if he’s the Serie A MVP again at the end of the season.

The best thing about Daniele Doveri’s officiating was that he controlled the game by not blowing the whistle too often. Just four fouls in the first half which allowed the game to maintain a smooth flow. The game was not continuously interrupted, allowing Inter and Napoli to put in the intensity you expect to see from the two best teams in the country, which is also absolutely vital on a European stage. The penalty kick that infuriated Antonio Conte was a correct decision, even if Doveri needed a pitchside review to spot Amir Rrahmani’s step on Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s foot. There’s a question, however, that lawmakers should ask themselves when certain types of incidents happen. What is the defender’s advantage in fouling a player who passed the ball backwards? Isn’t a penalty kick a much higher reward than the threat the attacking team posed, considering that the ball was not going towards the goal?

Don’t get it wrong. Conte knew exactly that Rrahmani’s foul was worthy of a penalty kick. Everyone knew. But at that moment, he had to send a message to his team. When he heard Doveri announcing a penalty kick for Inter, he completely lost it. First, he kicked a ball from the touchline, then threw a plastic bottle and then screamed in the face of the fourth official. Surely, it’s a behaviour that will cost him more than a one-game ban, but Conte had to show his players that he was eager to fight for them, so they had to do the same for him on the pitch. The Italian tactician followed the final minutes of the game behind one of the Stadio Meazza gates and celebrated wildly when McTominay scored a late equaliser. At the end of the day, his plan worked out.

It can’t be a coincidence anymore. The only big game Inter have won this season was against Roma. In two games against Napoli, they’ve only collected one point and then lost to Juventus and Milan. Many say that Cristian Chivu has further improved Simone Inzaghi’s playing style as Inter are often more aggressive and win the ball higher up the pitch than under the Italian. True. At the same time, however, the Nerazzurri still lack the killer instinct they only showed in one season under Inzaghi, when they won their 20th Scudetto in 2023-24. The Nerazzurri have now gone 14 games without beating Napoli, Juventus or Milan. So far, Chivu has been unable to invert the trend, and surely it has more to do with mentality rather than tactics.

McTominay and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said the same thing using different words last night: where would the Partenopei have been hadn’t they had so many injuries this season? The draw against Inter felt almost like a win for the defending champions, who have been without Kevin De Bruyne, Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour for several weeks, not to mention Romelu Lukaku, who hasn’t yet played one minute this season and David Neres, who missed the last two matches. If Inter had won yesterday, they would have had seven points more than Napoli and five more than second-placed Milan, but McT and the Partenopei have kept the title race alive.