The hosts’ Eljif Elmas was making just his fourth start of the season and almost marked it in the perfect way just three minutes in, hitting a superb strike from range that Yann Sommer did well to tip past the post.
The Nerazzurri got even closer to scoring in a blistering opening quarter-hour as Marcus Thuram linked up with Lautaro Martínez and beat Alex Meret, but the Frenchman had strayed marginally offside before receiving the return pass.
There was a pause when Stefan de Vrij received treatment for an injury that forced him off in the 18th minute, but it wasn’t long until Elmas tested Sommer again with a strike from a tight angle.
The teams continued to trade blows as the half progressed, with Matteo Politano conjuring a brilliant effort that crashed against the crossbar before Martínez spun behind Giovanni Di Lorenzo but was denied by a brave Meret save.
The half finally saw the spectacular opener it deserved in the 44th minute, when Hakan Çalhanoğlu sent an unstoppable strike out of the goalkeeper’s reach for the fifth goal in his last eight appearances.
Çalhanoğlu then made a selfless intervention to prevent Victor Osimhen from letting off a bicycle kick as Napoli emerged from the restart defiantly, with Sommer also getting down impressively to palm away Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s venomous attempt.
Having withstood that pressure, Inter then doubled their lead after the hour mark when Martínez found Nicolò Barella who jinked his way through the Azzurri shirts and poked home his first of the season.
Despite Denzel Dumfries going off injured, Inter continued to look imperious and Marcus Thuram latched onto Juan Cuadrado’s low cross and provided a simple finish.
That capped off an impressive performance that saw the Nerazzurri extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches and reclaim top spot in SA. They also inflicted the third defeat in Napoli’s last four fixtures, while Gli Azzurri have also gone winless in their last six at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan)
