Two down, then three back

Inter were two goals down to Napoli inside eight minutes of the second half at San Siro and won it 3-2, Lautaro Martínez scoring in the 56th minute and again in the first minute of stoppage time. Real Madrid at the Bernabéu comes next, Tuesday at 3:00 PM ET. Until then, the thing to watch is Federico Dimarco's left knee.

CONFIRMED  ·  CLUB · LEAGUE · UEFA

Cristian Chivu's verdict on Inter's second half, given to the club's own channels after the match: “Mi è piaciuta la reazione, la squadra non si è disunita ma ha continuato a giocare, alzando i giri del motore” — I liked the reaction; the team did not come apart, it kept playing and raised the revs.

He also explained the shape of the comeback. “Il gol dell'1-2 ci ha dato forza, ci ha dato tempo per fare dei cambi, togliere un difensore per mettere un attaccante” — the goal that made it 1-2 gave us strength, and gave us time to make changes, to take off a defender and put on a forward. Alessandro Bastoni came off for Ange-Yoan Bonny in the 79th minute; Marcus Thuram headed the equalizer three minutes later.

On his sprint down the touchline at the end, which brought him a caution in the first minute of stoppage time: “La mia corsa nasce perché volevo dare delle indicazioni, nel finale c'era una bolgia e non riuscivamo a trovare equilibrio” — my run started because I wanted to give instructions; at the end the place was bedlam and we could not find our balance.

INTER.IT · SEPT 5

Inter open the Champions League league phase away to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, September 8, kicking off at 3:00 PM ET (21:00 CEST). The club has published the schedule for the day before: Inter train at Appiano Gentile at 5:30 AM ET (11:30 CEST), and the official Inter press conference is at the Bernabéu at 1:00 PM ET (19:00 CEST). Real Madrid train and speak earlier the same day in Madrid.

The club has not said who will sit alongside Chivu at that press conference, and it has published no team news. UEFA's league phase list has Inter at home to Club Brugge next, on October 13.

INTER.IT / UEFA.COM · SEPT 6

Inter Women host Lazio at the Arena Civica Gianni Brera this afternoon in Milan, 9:00 AM ET (15:00 CEST), in the third matchday of Group A of the Serie A Women's Cup. Admission is free.

Both teams have six points from two matches. Inter beat Parma 1-0 away and Napoli 6-0 at home, and carry the better goal difference, so a draw is enough to win the group and go straight through to the semifinals.

INTER.IT · SEPT 6

Before Napoli, Lautaro Martínez was presented with the Premio Paolo Rossi, the Italian players' association award for the leading scorer in Serie A, for his 17 goals in 2025/26. Club president and chief executive Giuseppe Marotta and the association's president Umberto Calcagno handed it over on the field at San Siro. It is his second, after 2023/24.

He then scored twice.

INTER.IT · SEPT 5

REPORTED  ·  PRESS ONLY · NOT YET OFFICIAL

Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Federico Dimarco hurt his left knee in the first half against Napoli and played on with a heavy bandage — “l'esterno ha giocato nel secondo tempo con una vistosa fasciatura”, the wing-back played the second half with a conspicuous bandage — before Carlos Augusto replaced him in the 62nd minute. The paper's line is that Inter would rather not gamble at the Bernabéu with a ready deputy available.

The club has published nothing on Dimarco's knee. Treat the injury, and the decision, as the paper's reporting until Inter say otherwise.

GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT VIA FCINTERNEWS · SEPT 6

Corriere dello Sport expects Chivu to change the team for Tuesday and puts Curtis Jones in line for his first start, on the strength of the 45 minutes he played against Napoli after coming on for Petar Sučić at the interval. The paper quotes Chivu on Dimarco: “Abbiamo due giorni per valutarlo e vedremo” — we have two days to assess him, and we will see.

Its wider point is that the squad now gives Chivu a choice in every department, and that the plan can be cut to fit the opponent.

CORRIERE DELLO SPORT VIA FCINTERNEWS · SEPT 6

Curtis Jones told CBS Sports Golazo that the squad has gone out of its way to settle him since he arrived from Liverpool, that he feels at home among them, and that he can be himself and still be valued by the players and the club.

His remarks were given in English and reached the Italian press in translation, so they are reported here in substance rather than quoted word for word.

CBS SPORTS GOLAZO VIA FCINTERNEWS · SEPT 5

LATEST RESULT  ·  SERIE A · MATCHDAY 3 · SAN SIRO

Inter had the better of the first half and then lost the match in eight minutes of the second. Matteo Politano scored in the 50th, Rasmus Højlund in the 53rd, and San Siro was looking at 0-2 against a Napoli team that had beaten Genoa on the opening day and lost to Como in the second round.

Lautaro Martínez answered in the 56th. Thuram, on at halftime with Jones, headed the equalizer in the 82nd from a Carlos Augusto cross. In the first minute of stoppage time Lautaro scored again, and Chivu was booked for the run that followed. Simone Sozza refereed; Napoli's cautions went to Vergara and Marin, Inter's to Lautaro and Chivu.

The club's report lists no assists. Gazzetta dello Sport credits Dimarco with the pass for the first goal, and the club's own account of the match describes the winner as arriving off an Akanji touch; neither is treated as official here.

SERIE A FORM W W W · THREE FROM THREE · NINE POINTS

INTER.IT · SEPT 5

NEXT UP  ·  SEPTEMBER INTO OCTOBER · EASTERN TIME FIRST, MILAN SECOND

Kickoff times come from Inter's published calendar and the club's own Champions League and Women's Cup previews; the Serie A times for matchdays 1 to 5 were set by Lega Serie A. Milan is six hours ahead of New York while both are on summer time.

THE SUMMER, IN AND OUT  ·  MEN'S FIRST TEAM · WINDOW CLOSED SEPTEMBER 1

Men's first team, senior moves only, and only those announced by a club; fees are quoted in the currency the announcing source used. The men's window shut on Tuesday, September 1, so this table cannot change until January. Emma Kullberg's arrival is a women's-team signing and is not counted here.

THE POLL  ·  ONE TAP · NO SIGN-IN · RESULTS TOMORROW

YOUR CALL FOR SUNDAY · Chivu has two days to pick a team for the Bernabéu.

Reply to this email and tell me where you're reading from, and how Inter got you. I read every one.

NEXT EDITION: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 — THE LAST WORD BEFORE MADRID, CHIVU AT THE BERNABÉU AT 1:00 PM ET (19:00 CEST), AND THE TEAM NEWS AS THE CLUB GIVES IT

SOURCES: INTER.IT · MATCH REPORT · INTER.IT · CHIVU · INTER.IT · FIVE MOMENTS · INTER.IT · PREMIO PAOLO ROSSI · INTER.IT · MADRID SCHEDULE · INTER.IT · WOMEN v LAZIO · INTER.IT · WOMEN'S UCL CALENDAR · INTER.IT · SERIE A MD 1-5 · UEFA.COM · LEAGUE PHASE FIXTURES · FCINTERNEWS · GDS ON DIMARCO · FCINTERNEWS · CDS ON MADRID · FCINTERNEWS · JONES TO CBS