After 11 months and 31 games without a Serie A defeat, Inter Milan finally succumbed to modest Napoli, 1-0, on Sunday. The result, papers across Italy said, had “officially reopened” the title race. With second-place Roma thumping Parma 4-0 the day before, the loss leaves just Inter six points ahead of the Giallorossi with 12 games left to play.
“Two points in three games whiffs of a crisis,” exclaimed Germano Bovolenta in Monday’s Gazzetta dello Sport. “The problems are clear with this Inter,” added Alessandro Vocalelli of the Corriere Dello Sport. “True, they were missing important players in every position, from [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic to [Ivan] Cordoba, but even [Inter coach Roberto] Mancini recognized the lifelessness of those who were on the pitch. The lifelessness of a team he needs to re-energize from not only an athletic standpoint, but also a psychological one as they confront the most important part of the season.”
It was a poor showing indeed. The Guardian’s Paolo Bandini says that had it not been for goalkeeper Julio Cesar, the score could have easily been 3-0 or 4-0. Roma will be thankful to Napoli for the result, but the Giallorossi themselves visit the Stadio San Paolo next weekend. “Tonight we did a favor to Roma,” Napoli coach Edy Reja said after the match. “Next week we’ll try to do one for Inter.”