Inter fight back to beat Bologna 3-1 and go top of Serie A
Inter fight back to beat Bologna 3-1 and go top of Serie A
Inter came from behind to defeat Bologna 3-1 at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Saturday, moving three points clear at the top of Serie A and piling the pressure on second-placed Lazio ahead of their clash with Juventus on Sunday.
Bologna draw first blood through Pobega
The hosts made a dream start inside 10 minutes. Juan Miranda dispossessed Luis Henrique before picking out Tommaso Pobega, who surged past Inter's defence and rifled a sensational effort beyond Josep Martinez at the near post.
Bologna were dealt a blow on the half-hour mark when Roberto Piccoli was forced off through injury, though that did little to disrupt Raffaele Palladino's side. Pobega continued to threaten, going close to doubling his tally in the 40th minute after Nicolo Cambiaghi's strike was parried into his path, only for his follow-up to rattle the top of the crossbar.
That miss proved costly just four minutes later as Inter levelled through a delightfully simple move. An unmarked Marcus Thuram rose highest to nod Nicolo Barella's pinpoint cross into the top corner. Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was then called into action to prevent Inter from completing a swift turnaround before the break, reacting sharply to tip Francesco Pio Esposito's header over the bar.
Chivu's substitutes turn the game
Inter continued to build on their momentum after the break, with Esposito failing to make the most of a close-range chance before Petar Sucic sent a tame effort straight into Skorupski's hands. Those missed chances proved mere warning signs, though, as substitute Carlos Augusto completed the turnaround in the 69th minute — less than a minute after coming on — tapping home at the back post from Piotr Zielinski's centre.
Sucic then squandered a golden opportunity to put the result beyond doubt after Ange-Yoan Bonny's effort was parried into his path, only for him to strike the outside of the post. Bonny thought he had added a third in the 82nd minute after drifting past Matteo Darmian and beating Skorupski, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. The Ivorian was not to be denied, however, as he put the result beyond doubt less than a minute later, thumping Carlos Augusto's cross past Skorupski and into the net.
Kolarov: 'We are trying to be more aggressive'
With head coach Cristian Chivu having lost his voice on the touchline, assistant Aleksandar Kolarov stepped in to speak to the media.
"Our approach was not that bad today, but Bologna have fresher legs than we do," Kolarov told DAZN Italia. "We don't take that as an excuse, though, Bologna had a really good first half performance. We struggled to get the second ball, they were more aggressive, but the lads believed in themselves and we dominated after the break."
Carlos Augusto was named Serie A Man of the Match thanks to a goal and an assist. "Carlos Augusto has never got a training session wrong, he is very important for us and I am happy for him. We didn't need this award to know what he can do," Kolarov added.
The win was a much-needed boost considering Inter were still smarting from a shock 4-3 home defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. That left them with zero points after two matches in the tournament, having also lost 2-1 away to Real Madrid, so the upcoming encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk at San Siro on Wednesday is must-win.
"You need an extra gear in the Champions League, so we want to be more aggressive, both in attacking and when winning back the ball," Kolarov continued. "It is true that we are having a few problems, but we are also aware of our capabilities and have the time to make up for those dropped points. We are trying to be more aggressive in Europe than last season." Inter crashed out early in last season's Champions League play-offs to Bodo/Glimt, but before that had reached two finals in three years.
"We don't have anything to prove to anyone, other than to ourselves. We want to be more intense, both on and off the ball. In the second half today, in Madrid, and in the first 50 minutes against Club Brugge, we were intense with the ball at our feet. That is not to be taken for granted, we've got to set the tempo starting from the defenders."
Record-breaking start and underlying numbers
Inter's bid to seal back-to-back Scudetto titles has started strongly, with Chivu's side sitting comfortably in the upper reaches of the table across the opening weeks. Crucially, they were no match for Bologna in the final third, registering 3.35 expected goals (xG) to the Rossoblu's 0.90 xG.
Inter have now collected 19 points from their opening seven league matches for just the fourth time in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95), having previously done so in 2017-18 under Luciano Spalletti, 2002-03 under Hector Cuper and 1997-98 under Luigi Simoni. Interestingly, though, they failed to win the Scudetto on each of those three occasions.
Chivu will be particularly pleased with the contributions of his substitutes. The Brazilian Carlos Augusto has now contributed to three goals off the bench — a goal and an assist against Bologna — while Bonny has found the net twice as a substitute this term.
The result also handed new Bologna coach Raffaele Palladino his first defeat in charge, with the victory coming with Inter captain Lautaro Martinez still sidelined, as reported on October 17.