Inter won the crucial match against Napoli on Sunday in Serie A, a lot of the credit has to go to the Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who made an incredible save a few minutes before Inter scored the second and deciding goal of the game. Inter won 3-0 thanks to the goals scored by Hakan Calhanoglu in the first half and Nicolò Barella later in the second part of the clash, before the last one via Marcus Thuram who ended Napoli hopes. Between those two key moments, Sommer's incredible save on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia completed changed the course of the second half.
Clean sheet ✅
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 3, 2023
Yann Sommer came up clutch for Inter. 🧱 pic.twitter.com/5nQsxMGt6I
The save on the Georgian talented winger arrived a few minutes before Inter scored the second goal of the game, thanks to Lautaro Martinez' play on the left who found Barella between the lines before scoring. Sommer had a very positive start to the season and brought his experience and attitude to the Italian club after Inter sold Andre Onana to Manchester United for a deal worth a total of €54 million.
Inter had few options to find the replacement of Onana, but Sommer seemed the best one for two reasons. First of all, he could bring his international experience in the short term, and at the same time, Inter could save money with the deal considering that they paid around €4 million to Bayern Munich to sign their starting goalkeeper for the 2023-24 season. With that decision, the Nerazzurri could also sign French international Benjamin Pavard from the same German club and could fill the gap of the right center back after Milan Skriniar left Inter in the summer as free agent.
Despite the great start of the 2023-24 season and the crucial win against Napoli, Inter will now have to deal with more injuries in the defense since against the Azzurri both Stefan de Vrij and Denzel Dumfries suffered muscular injuries and might be out for some weeks. At the same time, the Nerazzurri can be positive about their imminent future as they are currently leading the table with 35 points after 14 games, two more than Juventus that next week will face the same Napoli in another deciding game for the Scudetto race. Simone Inzaghi's side didn't concede in nine games so far and only conceded seven goals in 14 clashes. With Sommer, Inter can look to the other teams with the knowledge of having the best defense of the league, despite two of the three starting defenders currently injured. This is why, more than everything else, Inter are widely considered the front runners for the title race this season.
