Inter, the current leaders of the Serie A league, were held to a draw at home after Jesus scored a late goal.

Napoli’s Brazilian defender, Juan Jesus, was the hero of the match as he celebrated scoring a crucial goal during the Serie A clash between Inter Milan and Napoli at the San Siro stadium in Milan on March 17, 2024.

Inter Milan’s march towards the Scudetto hit a stumbling block as Juan Jesus’ late header canceled out Darmian’s first-half opener. This draw marked only the third time this season that Inzaghi’s side dropped points at home and the first occasion in any game this season when they conceded a goal in the last 15 minutes.

Both teams returned from mid-week Champions League exits and played out a laborious 90 minutes of football on Sunday night. The result was fair on balance, with neither side overwhelmed with opportunities.

In the first half, Inter Milan had the better chances, although neither team had a significant advantage. The breakthrough goal came in the 43rd minute, meticulously constructed from a series of cross-pitch passes. Matteo Darmian, 34 years old, found himself with space in the middle and fired home a well-executed cut-back from Alessandro Bastoni.

In the second half, Napoli dominated possession and their persistence paid off in the 83rd minute. It came from their seventh corner of the game, which may have been controversially awarded. Nevertheless, Inter Milan’s failure to mark Juan Jesus at the far post allowed him to head home Matteo Politano’s inswinging set-piece.

Napoli pressed for a winner but had to settle for a single point, which keeps their Champions League hopes alive.

The talking point of the match was that Inzaghi still has one hand on the title. Despite this being the worst week of the season for the Inter manager, he can sleep soundly knowing that his team performed admirably. The players looked sluggish, both psychologically and physically, which is understandable considering nine of them played a match and a third in Madrid on Wednesday. While Inter may not win the title by a record-breaking points margin, they are likely to coast towards their 20th scudetto in the remaining nine matches.

The player of the match was Juan Jesus, who not only prevented the champions-elect from dominating Napoli but also scored the late equalizer. Jesus was solid as a rock at the center and frustrated Lautaro Martinez, the league’s top scorer, throughout the game. Martinez, who has gone three games without a goal, was unable to break his goal drought due to Jesus’ tight marking. Additionally, Jesus holds the distinction of being the only player this season to score against Inter Milan in the last fifteen minutes of a Serie A fixture.