Napoli’s title hopes shaken by late Genoa equaliser as Inter close in

Napoli’s bid for a second Serie A title in three seasons was hit by Sunday’s 2-2 home draw with Genoa which allowed Inter Milan to move to within a point of the league leaders thanks to their dramatic 2-0 win at Torino.

Antonio Conte’s team’s destiny is still in their hands with two matches remaining in the season, and two wins against Parma and Cagliari will secure the Scudetto.

But Inter will have hope of retaining their league crown after Johan Vasquez’s thumping header gave Genoa a late draw at a packed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

“They had two shots on target and scored two goals. These things happen,” said a visibly irritated Conte to DAZN.

“It’s annoying because we should have won given what we created and how we played. It’s disappointing to not win like this at the start of the season, forget about it with three matches remaining.

“But I can’t complain about the performance, we had 11 shots on target, all of the ball... We have to go and win the other two matches, that’s all there is to do it.”

Giacomo Raspadori thought he had won the game and all but secured the title for Napoli in the 64th minute after a wonderful piece of skill to control Scott McTominay’s pass.

McTominay also set up Romelu Lukaku’s 15th-minute opener which was cancelled out in the 32nd minute when Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret inadvertantly diverted Honest Ahanor’s header into his own goal.

And Vasquez piled the pressure on Napoli who also lost Stanislav Lobotka early on after Conte selected the key midfielder even though he hadn’t recovered from an ankle injury.

Inter close the gap: The cheers will have rung around the blue and black half of Milan when Vasquez powered home Genoa’s late leveller, after Nicola Zalewski and Kristjan Asllani gave Inter just their second away win in eight Serie A matches under torrential rain.

“It’s not up to us, so all we can do is do our jobs. That’s what happened today,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.

“Now we’ve got a few days’ rest after the tour de force the boys have had recently.”

Inter could have done without more drama after their epic Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona on Tuesday, but the match was barely underway when it was stopped as aid was rushed to a Torino supporter who had fallen from a stand.

An attritional match which Inter started with nine changes from their midweek triumph went in the away side’s favour in the 14th minute when Zalewski spun and curled home his first goal for the champions.

The game was stopped a minute from half-time as rain became a biblical downpour which left the pitch in Turin unplayable.

Even though the first half was completed following a short pause, the two teams then remained in the dressing rooms for over half an hour as the rain continued to pour.

Once back out, Asllani almost immediately doubled Inter’s lead with his second penalty in as many weeks, after Mehdi Taremi was brought down by Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

That goal was enough for Inter to claim the points and hand mid-table Torino a first home defeat of 2025.

Earlier, Verona inched towards safety from relegation with a 1-1 home draw with fellow strugglers Lecce which moved Paolo Zanetti’s team five points above the drop zone.

Meanwhile, Inter manager Inzaghi says careful squad management is crucial as he tried to balance domestic duties with the looming Champions League final.

Despite the relatively controlled Serie A win at Torino, Inter were without several key players - striker and captain Lautaro Martinez, goalkeeper Yann Sommer, and midfielder Davide Frattesi were among those left out of the starting lineup.

The 49-year-old has opted to rotate his key players to ensure the long season does not wear them down as they try and complete the Serie A-Champions League double.

“I need to give some players rest time after a long and hard season,” Inzaghi, whose side face Paris St Germain (PSG) in the Champions League final on 31 May, told Sky Sport Italia.

Agencies