Inter beat Napoli in a San Siro thriller as Juventus and Milan play out flat Turin draw

Inter Milan beat Napoli 3-2 at San Siro on Saturday thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Lautaro Martínez, in a contest that had all the ingredients of a title-race classic. A day later, Juventus and AC Milan played out a 1-1 draw in Turin, a result that laid bare the familiar limitations of two projects still searching for an identity despite their lavish summer spending.

• Lautaro Martínez struck the 3-2 winner in stoppage time after a scramble in the box.
• Napoli led 2-0 through goals from Matteo Politano and Rasmus Højlund but failed to close out the match.
• Juventus and Milan drew 1-1 with goals from Alphadjo Cisse and Federico Gatti.
• Both Juventus and Milan spent more than €160m on transfers this summer.
• The Nerazzurri reinforced their status as the leading Scudetto contenders.

Inter vs Napoli: a comeback and chaos at San Siro

Saturday's match took time to ignite, but after the break it became a wild end-to-end battle. The opening half hour offered little more than a couple of fine saves from both goalkeepers and a Federico Dimarco effort that hit the post. Everything changed after half-time, when Matteo Politano opened the scoring for Napoli by punishing some panicked Inter defending. Shortly afterwards, Rasmus Højlund made it 2-0 and Massimiliano Allegri's side seemed to have the game under control.

But Inter responded with the defiance of champions. Lautaro Martínez pulled one back in the 56th minute and Marcus Thuram, after rattling the woodwork, equalised with eight minutes left. Napoli, far from protecting their lead, had turned to Kevin De Bruyne and David Neres to chase a third goal, and it cost them dearly: deep into stoppage time, Curtis Jones swung a ball into the area that eventually fell to Lautaro, who poked it home before scaling the barrier behind the goal.

Inter with the defiance of champions, and Napoli sending on De Bruyne and Neres to chase a third goal instead of sitting on their lead.

Juventus vs Milan: a flat draw and familiar shortcomings

Sunday's game at the Allianz Stadium followed a very different script. With more than an hour played without goals and four of the previous five league meetings between these sides having ended goalless, everything pointed to the first 0-0 of the Serie A season. It did not materialise, but the eventual 1-1 draw carried much the same feeling: a shortage of clear chances, little attacking identity and two teams still trying to figure out what they are.

Not even the more than €160m each club invested in the summer market could change the complexion of the contest. Randal Kolo Muani and Gonçalo Ramos, rescued at great expense from Paris Saint-Germain's pile of spare parts, started up front for either side and managed just one shot between them, which was off target. Milan head coach Ruben Amorim left out two of his best attacking performers and handed a first start to €50m signing Diego Moreira, a gamble that did not pay off.

A teenage Cisse stunner and Gatti's rescue act

Milan barely threatened all match, finishing with 0.10 expected goals, yet still found themselves ahead thanks to a moment of brilliance from Alphadjo Cisse. The young forward, who spent last season on loan at Catanzaro in Serie B, stepped away from Manuel Locatelli, nutmegged Pierre Kalulu and found the corner from an unpromising angle. It was his second goal in three games and confirmed his status as one of the early breakout stars of the campaign.

Juventus threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and found it through an unlikely source: Federico Gatti, a repurposed centre-back, headed in Teun Koopmeiners' cross to make it 1-1. It was not the first time the defender had rescued his side: in March he scored a 93rd-minute equaliser against Roma. Back then he joked he could score 15 to 20 goals a season if deployed as a striker. This summer, however, Juventus tried and failed to sell him.

What Inter's win means for the Serie A title race

The victory over Napoli strengthens Inter's position as the leading candidate for the Scudetto, a title they won last season by 11 points. That campaign, however, saw the Nerazzurri lose four of their six meetings with Napoli, Milan and Juventus, and they faced criticism for their performances in high-stakes games. Head coach Cristian Chivu has not forgotten that debate and addressed it with some bite in the build-up: if Milan and Juve finished so far behind, were those really direct confrontations or simply tradition-laden fixtures?

The answer on the pitch was emphatic. Inter showed defensive vulnerabilities, but also a reaction capacity that left no room for doubt. Allegri's Napoli, who had started the season with authority, left San Siro with the bitter feeling of having let a winning position slip and with questions over their late-game management.

Serie A matchday 3 results

The rest of the third round of fixtures produced results that complete an intense start to the season. Genoa were beaten 4-1 at home by Como, Fiorentina lost 2-1 to Torino and Roma edged Atalanta 2-1. Frosinone won 3-2 against Venezia, Parma and Monza shared a 1-1 draw, and Bologna were held 2-2 by Sassuolo.

Frequently asked questions about the Serie A weekend