Rasmus Højlund said he was “devastated” after Napoli surrendered their advantage and lost to Inter in the headline fixture of the third round of the Italian championship.
Napoli had taken the lead against the club who finished second last season, with Højlund among those who contributed to their position in front. But Inter recovered, overturned the game and secured victory in Saturday’s meeting between the two highest-placed teams from the previous campaign.
The result left Højlund deeply frustrated. The Denmark international did not conceal his disappointment after a match in which Napoli had appeared capable of taking a significant result away from one of their principal rivals.
“I am devastated, everything went wrong,” Højlund said.
The match was regarded as the standout contest of the third round because it brought together Inter and Napoli, the two sides that ended last season in the top two positions. That context added importance to a game which Napoli began positively but ultimately failed to see through.
Højlund’s goal helped Napoli establish their advantage, but it was not enough to prevent Inter from completing the comeback. Napoli’s lead disappeared before the final whistle, leaving the Danish forward to reflect on a result that fell well short of expectations.
For Napoli, attention now turns to their next fixture. They are due to face Bologna in the fourth round of the Italian championship on Monday, 13 September, in the final match of that round.
That encounter will provide Napoli with their next opportunity to respond to the disappointment against Inter. The defeat followed a performance in which the team had held the lead, but the final outcome was decided in Inter’s favour.
Højlund’s reaction underlined the scale of Napoli’s frustration. After scoring in a match that had promised to deliver an important result against one of the league’s leading clubs, he was left to describe the evening as one in which everything had gone wrong.
The meeting between Inter and Napoli was the main fixture of the weekend’s round, bringing together last season’s top two in one of the earliest major tests of the campaign. Napoli’s next game against Bologna, scheduled for Monday, 13 September, will close the round and give them the chance to move on from the loss.