Photo by Franco Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A statement win at the defending champs Prior commitments meant I had to miss Inter?s trip to Napoli, and boy did I lose out on a good one. I was expecting a close win at best, much less a 3-0 score line in favor of the good guys. Unfortunately I wasn?t able to get a recap done, so we?ll be stuck with just the highlights - although it might not a bad thing to rewatch that 44th minute Hakan Calhanoglu wonder goal and eventual game winner a few times. The other tallies, from Nicola Barella in the 61st minute (his first of the season and hopefully the momentum push he needs to get back to his top form) and Marcus Thuram, who continues to show up in the big games, in the 85th, were impressive works of art from Inter as well. Not quite as impressive as the defensive display, however, which kept Napoli scoreless even without Alessandro Bastoni, Benjamin Pavard, and Stefan de Vrij (who left injured 20 minutes in). But the back line and Yan Sommer keep holding strong regardless of who?s on the pitch, and as they say, it?s defenses that win championships. This was a huge result that really does bring a Scudetto push into focus, capping off a week of travel and tough games in style. In the short term, Inter keeps its hold on first place with the win, still two points clear of Juventus. There?s now a very welcome week off before Simone Inzaghi?s men are in action next at home vs Udinese on Saturday.
Forza Inte...