Goals in the 89th minute helped both Napoli and Inter Milan beat their respective opponents on matchday six of Serie A.
Spezia looked to have done their jobs to perfection, holding a free-scoring Napoli to a 0-0 draw despite the wealth of attacking talent at the latter’s disposal. However, a minute from full-time, the minnows lost concentration, and a simple ball in from the right from Hirving Lozano, tapped in by Giacomo Raspadori for his first Napoli goal, washed away all of their hard work up until that point – 1-0, the hosts won.
In Milan, Inter took on Torino looking to put a string of inconsistent results behind them. The Nerazzurri had lost to both Lazio and rivals AC Milan in recent weeks, as well as Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on matchday one. It took Simone Inzaghi’s men until the 89th minute to find the breakthrough; Nicolo Barella created the opening by swinging the ball in behind the Torino defence, which Marcelo Brozovic touched past the goalkeeper for the only goal of the game.
With their rivals picking up wins, AC Milan knew they had to beat Sampdoria to keep up or else risk falling behind early in their title defence. It took only six minutes for the Rossoneri to open the scoring against their opponents. Junior Messias scored after Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud had combined to create the opening.
But, disaster struck after the break when, in an attempt to score the spectacular, Leao was adjudged to have his boot dangerously high and sent off for a second bookable offence. Minutes later, Filip Djuricic flicked the ball past Mike Maignan from close range, and things looked to be worsening for the ten-men Milan.
Nevertheless, a handball by Jeison Murillo allowed Giroud a chance to score from the spot in the 67th minute, which the striker did without much difficulty, putting Milan ahead on the night. The Rossoneri would hold on to their narrow lead for the half hour that remained – the result, the second spot on the table behind Napoli on goal difference.