When Edinson Cavani scored a brace in 2011-12, he broke the Inter dominance in the Coppa Italia and Napoli haven’t looked back since.
Napoli lead 1-0 after the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals against Inter and are looking to build on their great cup-run against the Nerazzurri.
The Nerazzurri had historically speaking kept Napoli at an arm’s length every time the two sides met in the Cup, but Antonio Conte’s men have it all to do when they travel to the San Paolo this evening.
It’s the end of a struggle to get the best of the Partenopei in recent years, as the Coppa Italia has been the Azzurri’s playground with a 3-1-1 record in their last five meetings, including the first leg of this year’s edition.
However, the one draw ended in a defeat on penalties and Inter advanced, after getting revenge from the similar scenario in the second leg of the semi-finals in 1997, when the Azzurri won the shootout.
Up until the quarter-finals in 2011-12, the Nerazzurri had in fact never lost a Coppa Italia match against the Partenopei, but Cavani broke the run and Inter have since struggled to hold their own against a resistant Napoli.
The home side have so far always advanced after winning the first leg on the road, after knocking out Cagliari in 1987 and Pisa in 1989, so are hoping to continue the perfect record this weekend.
Alex Meret and David Ospina have been taking turns in goal at the San Paolo this season and the Colombian kept three consecutive Coppa clean sheets, convincing coach Gennaro Gattuso to favour him over the you Italy international.
But despite Napoli’s promising stats, the years have flown by since Inter lost twice in a row in the Coppa Italia. The last time was when Roma eliminated them from the semi-finals in 2012-13 and the only away win in seven attempts came against this weekend’s opponents in January 2016.
Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic scored the goals when Inter last beat Napoli at the San Paolo in the Coppa Italia.
This time, Dries Mertens is one goal away from becoming the all-time leading goalscorer for the Azzurri, currently tied at 121 with Marek Hamsik. The Belgium international, who has been targeted by Inter due to his expiring contract, seems set to remain at the San Paolo and should be starting on Saturday.
His record against Inter, though, is not perfect. So far, he has only contributed two goals and one assist in his nine games against the Nerazzurri, whilst Conte hopes Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez can hit the ground running.
Both players scored in the League match when Inter won 3-1 against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, one of six times they have both found the net in the same game this term.
Overall, Inter have the upper hand statistically, but the cup is always the cup and Napoli have dominated the guests in recent years.
