Italian Serie A
Inter MilanInter Milan1NapoliNapoli0

Inter Milan 1-0 Napoli: Kalidou Koulibaly 'victim of alleged racist chants as Lautaro Martinez grabs winner

Koulibaly
Koulibaly, who was born in France, joined Napoli from Belgian club Genk in 2014

Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti said his team asked three times for their match at Inter Milan to be suspended because of alleged racist chanting, before a last-minute goal gave Inter victory.

Ancelotti claimed Kalidou Koulibaly was targeted at the San Siro, where the Senegal defender was sent off.

Lautaro Martinez scored a 91st-minute winner for Inter, before Napoli also saw forward Lorenzo Insigne dismissed.

"The next time we'll stop playing, even if we lose the match," Ancelotti said.

"What happened today is not good not only for us but also for Italian football as a whole," the former Chelsea boss added.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to Koulibaly. The boy was on edge, he is an educated footballer who was targeted. Despite our requests the match was not interrupted. I'm unhappy because three times we asked for the match to be suspended."

Koulibaly, 27, was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in a matter of seconds in the 80th minute. The first was for a foul on Matteo Politano, the second was for sarcastically applauding the referee's decision.

After the match he posted on Twitter:external-link "I'm sorry about the defeat and especially to have let my brothers down.

"But I'm proud of the colour of my skin. To be French, Senegalese, Neapolitan, and a man."

The mayor of Milan, Guiseppe Sala, apologised to Koulibaly on his Facebook page.external-link

"It was a shameful act against a respected athlete, who proudly bears the colour of his skin, and also, to a lesser degree, against the many people who go to the stadium to support their team and be with their friends."

Napoli's 27-year-old Algerian left-back Faouzi Ghoulam posted a message of support. "It was painful to hear racist chants directed at my brother," his Twitter post read.external-link

"What's left is secondary, only sadness remains."

Lautaro Martinez
Martinez struck with his only attempt on goal, eight minutes after coming on

Insigne was shown a straight red after appearing to gesture towards the referee in the 94th minute.

Napoli's defeat means defending champions and leaders Juventus, who have won the past seven Italian league titles, are now nine points clear of the second-placed side.

Mauro Icardi hit the Napoli crossbar with the game's very first touch, when he shot straight from kick-off.

But Inter, who remain in third place, had to wait until injury time before Martinez found the net with his first attempt on goal, eight minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Earlier on Saturday, as Serie A matches were held for the first time on 26 December, Cristiano Ronaldo scored an equaliser for 10-men Juve as they salvaged a 2-2 draw at Atalanta.

Inter are now five points behind Napoli in third, 14 points behind Juve.

Line-ups

Inter Milan

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Handanovic
  • 33D'Ambrosio
  • 6de Vrij
  • 37Skriniar
  • 18Asamoah
  • 15João MárioSubstituted forLa Martínezat 83'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 77BrozovicBooked at 29mins
  • 20ValeroBooked at 52minsSubstituted forVecinoat 64'minutes
  • 16Politano
  • 9Icardi
  • 44PerisicSubstituted forKeitaat 74'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Vrsaljko
  • 5Gagliardini
  • 8Vecino
  • 10La Martínez
  • 11Keita
  • 13Ranocchia
  • 27Padelli
  • 29Chagas Estevao
  • 87Candreva

Napoli

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Meret
  • 7Callejón
  • 33AlbiolBooked at 67mins
  • 26KoulibalyBooked at 80mins
  • 6Mário RuiSubstituted forGhoulamat 78'minutes
  • 8Ruiz
  • 5AllanBooked at 56mins
  • 17HamsikSubstituted forMaksimovicat 24'minutes
  • 20Zielinski
  • 24InsigneBooked at 90mins
  • 99MilikSubstituted forMertensat 70'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Malcuit
  • 9Verdi
  • 11Ounas
  • 13Luperto
  • 14Mertens
  • 19Maksimovic
  • 23Hysaj
  • 25Ospina
  • 27Karnezis
  • 30Rog
  • 31Ghoulam
  • 42Diawara
Referee:
Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni
Attendance:
63,946

Match Stats

Home TeamInter MilanAway TeamNapoli
Possession
Home50%
Away50%
Shots
Home12
Away12
Shots on Target
Home5
Away4
Corners
Home5
Away0
Fouls
Home12
Away10

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Inter Milan 1, Napoli 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Inter Milan 1, Napoli 0.

  3. Dismissal

    Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) is shown the red card.

  4. Post update

    Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Nikola Maksimovic (Napoli).

  6. Post update

    Foul by Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan).

  7. Post update

    José Callejón (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Booking

    Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.

  9. Goal!

    Goal! Inter Milan 1, Napoli 0. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Keita (Inter Milan).

  11. Post update

    José Callejón (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Piotr Zielinski (Napoli) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

  13. Post update

    Attempt saved. Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Matteo Politano (Inter Milan) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Matías Vecino.

  15. Post update

    Fabián Ruiz (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Keita (Inter Milan).

  17. Post update

    Attempt saved. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Matteo Politano with a cross.

  18. Post update

    Corner, Inter Milan. Conceded by Raúl Albiol.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Inter Milan. Lautaro Martínez replaces João Mário.

  20. Dismissal

    Second yellow card to Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli).

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Wednesday 26th December 2018

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Juventus18162036102650
2Napoli18132334151941
3Inter Milan18113430141636
4Lazio189452720731
5Sampdoria1885531211029
6AC Milan187742419528
7Roma187653224827
8Torino186842318526
9Atalanta187473325825
10Fiorentina186752518725
11Sassuolo186752826225
12Parma187471721-425
13Cagliari184861723-620
14Genoa185492535-1019
15SPAL184591425-1117
16Empoli1844102236-1416
17Udinese183691423-915
18Bologna182791326-1313
19Frosinone1817101236-2410
20Chievo1808101335-225
View full Italian Serie A table

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