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Romelu Lukaku’s penalty was enough to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win against 10-man Napoli at San Siro on Wednesday and put the hosts one point behind Serie A leaders AC Milan.
Only one point and one place separated the two teams before kick-off, and the match was decided when David Ospina conceded a penalty midway through the second half, which Lukaku converted.
The two captains had an impact on contrasting fashions, as Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne was sent off for dissent after the penalty award and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic made some decisive interventions to keep his team in front.
However, Napoli pushed hard for the tie with 10 men and Andrea Petagna was denied a late draw when his shot hit the post in injury time.
The victory leaves Inter in second place, one point behind leaders Milan, while Naples is fourth with 23 points.
The pressure was mounting on Inter manager Antonio Conte after his team’s disappointing early exit from the Champions League, where they finished last in their group, but he has now overseen a streak of five straight wins in Serie A.
Napoli lost star forward Dries Mertens during a cautious first half, as the Belgian was forced to leave crying with an ankle injury.
The game came to life in the last 20 minutes. Handanovic instinctively blocked an ingenious move from Insigne before Inter raced down the other end to win the decisive penalty, when Ospina caught the foot of Inter side Matteo Darmian.
Insigne was furious at the decision and saw red for his reaction, but Napoli finished stronger as Handanovic produced excellent saves from Matteo Politano and Giovanni Di Lorenzo before Wood came to Inter’s rescue in the closing minutes.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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