Inter Turn 2.77 xG and 28 Shots Into a 3-2 Comeback

Inter beat Napoli 3-2 at San Siro after going two goals down inside eight second-half minutes. The hosts finished with 2.77 expected goals from 28 shots, five big chances and 58 touches in the Napoli box. Napoli posted 2.25 xG, 16 shots and three big chances from 37% possession.

Key Numbers

Possession sat 63-37 for Inter. Pass accuracy was 90% (481/537) against 78% (261/335). Final-third passing was 85% (170/200) for Inter and 65% (64/98) for Napoli. Expected assists ran 2.44 to 0.53.

xG on target favored Inter 2.93 to 1.73. Inter put 19 of 28 shots from inside the box and hit the woodwork twice. Napoli put 13 of 16 shots from inside the box. Inter won 57 duels to 32 and completed 16 of 27 tackles. Napoli cleared 38 balls to 24.

The first half produced almost no finishing quality: 0.48-0.38 xG, zero big chances, Inter 57% of the ball. All five goals arrived after the restart. Goalkeepers combined for 11 saves; goals-prevented figures were -0.27 for Inter and -0.07 for Napoli.

Tactical Reading

The interval changes did not immediately settle Inter. Matteo Politano scored in the 50th minute. Rasmus Hojlund added a second three minutes later from a Giovanni Di Lorenzo assist. Napoli had turned a sterile first half into a two-goal lead without needing more than 37% of the match.

Lautaro Martinez pulled one back in the 56th minute from a Federico Dimarco assist. Inter then introduced Carlos Augusto for Dimarco and later Hakan Calhanoglu for Piotr Zielinski. Kevin De Bruyne replaced Antonio Vergara for Napoli around the hour. The territorial tilt stayed with Inter: 58 box touches to 22 for the match.

Marcus Thuram scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute from a Carlos Augusto assist. Martinez finished the comeback in the first minute of stoppage from a Manuel Akanji assist. Inter's five big chances finally showed on the scoreboard after a first half that created none.

Standout Performers

Lautaro Martinez scored twice and collected a yellow card. Dimarco and Akanji supplied the first and third Inter goals. Carlos Augusto created the equalizer shortly after coming on. Politano and Hojlund delivered Napoli's 50th- and 53rd-minute burst; Di Lorenzo assisted the second.

De Bruyne's 62nd-minute introduction did not shift the xA gap. Inter's 2.44 expected assists against 0.53 explains why the late pressure produced three goals rather than another sterile half.

What It Means

After three Serie A matches Inter sit second on nine points (8 scored, 3 conceded), level with Roma at the top. Napoli are 10th on three points (5-5) after a win and two losses. The 2.77-2.25 xG split is closer than 3-2 suggests; the 5-3 big-chance split and 58-22 box-touch gap are not.

For live soccer on TV viewers this was a second-half conversion game. Napoli scored the first two clear openings after the restart. Inter's volume — 28 shots, nine corners, 2.44 xA — then overran a Napoli side that completed only 64 of 98 final-third passes.