Inter come from behind to beat Bologna late on

BOLOGNA – It was always going to be difficult, and it proved to be so. But how sweet was that? Inter ran out 2-1 winners away to Bologna thanks to Lukaku’s late 91st-minute penalty, meaning the Nerazzurri now sit on 28 points in the league. As expected, this was a tough match, with Antonio Conte’s side able to find the answers they needed to find. And it was a young side, too: Bastoni was selected from the start, as was Lazaro. The Austrian, who started for the very first time in an Inter shirt, was a constant menace on the wing for the Nerazzurri, who were able to turn the game around after falling behind after an hour. Lukaku was once again key: the Belgian striker was in the right place at the right time to equalise, while he showed ice-cool composure to win it late on. This was Inter’s sixth win in six games on the road, the best record in Europe. Meanwhile, Lukaku’s numbers speak for themselves: the forward has now scored nine goals in eleven league games, making him the first Inter player to score at least nine goals in his first eleven matches after joining the Nerazzurri since Ronaldo in 1997/98.

An organised Bologna side made an extremely bright start and showed that they weren’t afraid to come forward. This wasn’t really a surprise, however: Inter knew that the match at the Dall’Ara would use up a lot of physical and mental energy. Mihajlovic’s team (Tanjga was on the Bologna bench for the match) looked to play at a high tempo and put Inter under pressure right from the very beginning. In the third minute, Sansone tested Handanovic’s reflexes with a great strike. However, Inter weren’t about to sit back and watch, and Conte’s men almost scored the opener in the ninth minute as Skorupski produced a tremendous save to keep out Lautaro’s shot following Lazaro’s fantastic through ball.In the 17th minute, the Argentine striker was once again in the thick of the action as he intercepted Skorupski’s poor ball out and picked out Lukaku, but Bani threw himself at the Belgian’s effort and denied the Nerazzurri. With 30 minutes on the clock, Lukaku cut inside and let fly with his left foot, but Skorupski was able to make the save at his near post. Inter were putting in a solid display, demonstrating an ability to attack at the right moment and find the right spaces. In the 34th minute, Conte’s men had the ball in the net as Lautaro slotted the ball past Skorupski, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Five minutes later, Lukaku also thought he’d given Inter the lead, but the goal was also ruled out after the ball had gone out of play prior to Lazaro’s cross. An unlucky end to a solid half.

The tempo dropped in the second half: fewer chances, less space to run into. The match seemed to be almost closed off, but it was Soriano who opened the scoring as he suddenly gave Bologna the lead. After an extended period of build-up play on the edge of the box, the ball was rolled into the Bologna midfielder who struck it well, his shot deflecting off Palacio and into Handanovic’s net. An unexpected blow for Inter, who immediately looked to respond through Lukaku as he couldn’t quite get on the end of Lazaro’s cross, the Swiss wing-back looking lively all night. It was the two changes by Conte that sparked Inter into life, with Vecino and Candreva both coming on shortly before Inter found their equaliser. With 15 minutes left to play, Lazaro and Brozovic linked up on the right before sending it into the middle. The ball bounced around the goalmouth with Skorupski doing fantastically to keep Skriniar out, but sure enough Lukaku was there for the rebound to make it 1-1.

This goal gave a real boost to Inter and the Nerazzurri launched themselves forward in search of a winner. It didn’t look likely, with the hosts putting in everything they had to hold onto a point. Chances for Inter’s second fell to both Vecino and Lukaku in the final ten minutes, with the Nerazzurri determined not to give in and fighting for every single loose ball in the game. All of that effort came good in the final minutes as Lautaro Martinez, positive as always, drove into the box and was brought down by Orsolini. Lukaku stepped up to the spot and powered the penalty past Skorupski to make it 2-1 to Inter. However, there looked to be one final sting in the tail as Bologna came close to another in a nervy end to the game. Fortunately, nothing came of the chances as the whistle blew and the Nerazzurri came away victorious. Conte's men will now turn their heads to Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.BOLOGNA 1-2 INTERBOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): 28 Skorupski; 15 Mbaye, 23 Danilo, 13 Bani, 11 Krejci; 16 Poli (5 Medel 72'), 32 Svanberg; 7 Orsolini, 21 Soriano (31 Dzemaili 76'), 10 Sansone (9 Santander 84'); 24 Palacio.Substitutes: 1 Da Costa, 97 Sarr, 4 Denswil, 6 Paz, 17 Skov Olsen, 25 Corbo, 26 Juwara, 29 Cangiano, 30 Schouten.Coach: Miroslav Tanjga (filling in for Sinisa Mihajlovic).INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni; 19 Lazaro (16 Politano 84'), 5 Gagliardini (8 Vecino 72'), 77 Brozovic, 23 Barella, 34 Biraghi (87 Candreva 74'); 10 Lautaro, 9 Lukaku.Substitutes: 27 Padelli, 46 Berni, 2 Godin, 13 Ranocchia, 12 Sensi, 20 Borja Valero, 21 Dimarco, 30 Esposito.Coach: Antonio ConteScorers: 59' Soriano (B), 75' and 91' pen. Lukaku (I)Bookings: Brozovic (I), Danilo (B), Gagliardini (I), Skriniar (I), Bani (B), Vecino (I), Medel (B)Red cards: Tanjga (B)Added time: 0' - 4'