Higuain Sends Napoli Top

A brace from Gonzalo Higuain proved enough to see off the challenge of Internzionale at Stadio San Paolo.

The action commenced 65 seconds from the kick off when Higuain belted in a goal from the edge of the box. While Inter may claim that Jose Callejon handled the ball, it would have been a very harsh decision if penalised. Jaison Murillo missed a good opportunity to clear the lines and would have prevented the goal being scored.

Inter were nervy and Napoli were creating good opportunities. Marek Hamsik dinked a ball into the box but Callejon couldn't supply a finish. This is the first time I've watched Napoli this season and the changes Maurizio Sarri has made are incredible. Napoli are more easy on the eye to watch with their fluid passing style of play and more importantly, they look like a cohesive team. Under Rafa Benitez they often conceded from winning positions and never looked settled.

Lorenzo Insigne and Hamsik were getting too much space in between the Inter midfield and defence. This allowed the Neapolitan defenders to slide balls through to the creative midfielders and when they turned and run at the Milanese defence, they looked vulnerable. Napoli were having all of the ball and when Inter did get possession, they looked lost and eventually conceded the ball back to their hosts. They looked like they missed Geoffrey Kondogbia in the middle of the pitch.

Inter had a glorious chance five minutes before the interval. It was the first occasion in which Adem Ljajic got on the ball and decided to run with it. He found himself on the right wing and hit a low ball into the box only for Ivan Perisic to scuff the shot wide. Inter don't create many opportunities or score goals so this one represented a golden chance for the Nerazzurri to level it up.

Things got harder for Internazionale when Yuto Nagatomo received his second yellow card. Nice play from Allan on the right allowed him to evade one challenge and give himself space and time to dink the ball over Nagatomo before being taken out. There was no doubt that it was a second yellow card and it gave Roberto Mancini some thinking to do over the break if his side are to remain at the top of the table this week.

In the second half, Napoli displayed all of the dominance they showed in the first half, but weren't as creative and free-flowing, largely down to Mancini's astute tactics. They limited Napoli by keeping Hamsik and Insigne quiet and the second half remained scoreless until the hour mark. Higuain netted his and Napoli's second when a hopeful long header from Raul Albiol caught Murillo and Miranda off guard. The former Madridista had enough speed and power to hold off the challenges before burying the ball past Samir Handanovic.

From out of nowhere, Adem Ljajic halved the deficit five minutes later. An error from Faouzi Ghoulam poked the ball into the path of the Serbian international before taking a touch and curling it into the bottom corner. The goal gave Inter the lift they needed but also meant that their hosts had to concentrate for the remaining 20 minutes. Marcelo Brozovic had a mazy run which opened up a shooting opportunity, but his shot did not hit the target.

Inter had possibly their best opportunity of the game when Ivan Perisic threaded a ball through to the goal scorer, Ljajic and with Jonathan Biabiany free at the front post, he tried to pull the ball back to the edge of the area only for it to be easily intercepted. This was a massive opportunity that would have certainly resulted in the net bulging it the 24 year old had made the correct decision. Despite the missed opportunity, Inter had silenced the San Paolo and dragged themselves kicking and screaming back into the match.

After a great chance from Ljajic, Higuain had a great opportunity to net his hat trick and put the game out of the sight of the Milanese side. He beat numerous straggling challenges in a mazy run and released a shot that was goal-bound only for a terrific save from Handanovic to foil the World Cup runner-up. At the other end, both substitute Stefan Jovetic and Miranda had excellent headers that almost equalised. Jovetic was denied by the post, while a full stretch Pepe Reina thwarted Miranda. The reaction on the face of the former Liverpool keeper was a picture of relief at the end of the game.

Napoli held on to go top of Serie A, while Inter can be pleased with a steely performance that almost snatched them a point. Napoli are an exciting team and Sarri will definitely have them competing for silverware at the end of the season.