STADIO GIUSEPPE MEAZZA (Milan) – Inter needed a wakeup call to defeat Bologna in Serie A as they came back from behind to beat Thiago Motta’s side 6-1 and put last weekend’s Juventus defeat behind them.
The Nerazzurri were first punished for their slow start by Riccardo Orsolini’s deflected shot which was recorded as a Charalampos Lykogiannis goal, but Edin Dzeko’s immediate response paved the way for an emphatic turnaround that also saw Lautaro Martinez, Federico Dimarco (twice), Hakan Calhanoglu and Robin Gonsens with goals.
Bologna strike first
Having won all of their last three Serie A matches, the Rossoblu looked eager to extend their positive streak and started on the front foot, threatening Inter twice in the opening 10 minutes through Musa Barrow and Marko Arnautovic, the latter forcing André Onana’s first save of the night.
However, as much as it had been deserved, the visitor’s lead came in a rather fortuitous fashion when Orsolini’s shot was deflected off of Lykogiannis’ back to send Onana the wrong way.
Dimarco and Dzeko showed Inter the way
It didn’t look like the hosts were up to an immediate reaction but a masterpiece from Edin Dzeko was enough to get a quick equaliser, as the Bosnian turned home Denzel Dumfries‘ deflected cross, as the ball left Lukasz Skorupski helpless, going in at the far post.
The atmosphere suddenly got lively when the referee awarded a foul on the edge of the box and the resulting brawl between some players gave Federico Dimarco about five minutes to take aim and score the free kick to complete the turnaround.
Following a slow start, Inter had been awakened by then and found their third of the night with one of their trademark moves as Lautaro Martinez was well placed at the near post to flick in Calhanoglu’s corner.
Bologna may have felt as if they needed more than a 15-minute break to recover from the succession of events they had just witnessed. Inter were ruthless and make the most of it as play resumed, with Dzeko hitting the crossbar and Dimarco netting his brace just three minutes into the second half.
Calhanoglu was presented the chance to score a fifth 10 minutes later and didn’t fail, sending Skorupski the wrong way from the penalty spot. Gosens came off the bench and didn’t take long to leave a mark with a sliding finish that piled more misery on the visitors.
Inter have now climbed to fourth in Serie A, joint with Atalanta.
