Inter Come From Behind to Beat Bologna 3-1 and Stay Top

Inter came from a goal down to beat Bologna 3-1 at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Saturday, scoring three times after Tommaso Pobega had put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute. Marcus Thuram levelled in the 44th minute, substitute Carlos Augusto put Inter in front in the 69th, and Ange-Yoan Bonny sealed it in the 83rd. Inter stay top of Serie A on 19 points from seven games.

Inter arrived without captain Lautaro Martinez, who is out for a month with a thigh injury, and still stinging from a 4-3 home defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League in midweek. Benjamin Pavard, Curtis Jones and John Stones were also sidelined. Bologna had problems of their own, with Riccardo Orsolini and Emil Holm out for several weeks, but new coach Raffaele Palladino had steadied his side with a draw against Torino and a 2-1 win at Lecce.

The start made things worse for Inter. Pobega flashed a ball across the face of goal inside 18 seconds, with Roberto Piccoli unable to reach it at full stretch. Lukasz Skorupski, restored in the Bologna goal, fingertipped a Nicolo Barella half volley wide. Then Luis Henrique lost the ball to Juan Miranda, Pobega drove into the box and surprised goalkeeper Josep Martinez at the near post.

Inter had to survive more pressure before they settled. Martinez flew to palm a Federico Bernardeschi strike out from under the bar, and Niccolo Cambiaghi hit the side netting after controlling a long pass. Piccoli limped off and was replaced by Jay Enem. Pobega nearly made it 2-0 in the 38th minute, striking the crossbar from a tight angle after a corner was charged down into his path. Instead, Inter levelled a minute before half time. Nicolo Barella crossed and Thuram rose to head in the equaliser, flicking the ball into the far top corner. Skorupski then clawed a Pio Esposito header away from point blank range to keep the score level at the break.

Substitutes decide it

Inter controlled the second half, with 65 percent of possession and 17 shots to Bologna's 11 across the match. The pressure paid off through the bench. Andy Diouf sent Piotr Zielinski down the right, and he rolled the ball across for Carlos Augusto to tap in at the back post in the 69th minute, with practically his first touch of the game. Bonny drew Skorupski out and saw his shot pushed into the path of Petar Sucic, who volleyed onto the upright of an open goal, and Bonny then had a goal of his own flagged offside. The third goal, when it came in the 83rd minute, was a team move involving four substitutes: Henrikh Mkhitaryan controlled a Hakan Calhanoglu cross field pass and sent Augusto down the left, and his low cross was tapped in from seven yards by Bonny.

The result is the first defeat for Bologna under coach Raffaele Palladino, after a draw with Torino and a 2-1 win at Lecce. Bologna stay 14th on five points.

Inter assistant coach Aleksandar Kolarov, speaking after head coach Cristian Chivu lost his voice, said the team is trying to be more aggressive this season and dominated the game after the early setback.

What is next

Inter host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday. Bologna travel to Cagliari in Serie A next Saturday.