Napoli go top with slump-ending win over Inter but lose De Bruyne

Kevin de Bruyne hurt his hamstring while netting his fourth Serie A strike, yet Napoli secured a 3-1 victory against Inter Milan at home on Saturday, ending their poor run and claiming the summit of the Italian top flight.

AC Milan had opened the door at the top by tying with Pisa the previous evening, reaching 17 points. Napoli now lead by one point following their crucial triumph at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Partenopei had faced difficulties lately, dropping two of their previous three league matches, which included a loss to AC Milan, and then enduring a 6-2 thrashing by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League midweek.

They bounced back strongly before their supporters.

Napoli earned a spot kick in the 33rd minute as Henrikh Mkhitaryan fouled right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

The midfielder hurt himself in the tackle and had to leave the pitch before De Bruyne took the penalty and slotted it away. This marked the Belgian's fourth goal in the league during his debut campaign in Italy. He had previously found the net twice from penalties and once via a free kick.

However, the 34-year-old grabbed his hamstring right after celebrating and required assistance to exit the field prior to the restart.

Scott McTominay made it 2-0 for the hosts in the 54th minute by rifling a shot in from just outside the area.

Hakan Calhanoglu pulled one back from 12 yards for Inter shortly after, in the 59th minute, following a handball by Alessandro Buongiorno on a Lautaro Martinez effort.

Andre-Frank Anguissa sealed the result with Napoli's third goal in the 67th minute, powering the ball into the net.

Inter sit in fourth place, trailing Roma, who face Sassuolo on Sunday and have a chance to match Napoli's points total.