Inter left Bologna with more than three points. Their 3-1 win at the Dall’Ara preserved first place in Serie A, stretched their unbeaten sequence to 16 matches and, above all, offered another example of Cristian Chivu’s side refusing to let a difficult afternoon become a damaging one. For the fourth time in the league this season, Inter fell behind and still found a way to turn the match around.
It was not a simple response. Bologna, beaten only in the sense that the final score did not reflect their first-half authority, began with the conviction of a side encouraged by Raffaele Palladino’s recent work. The home team had won at Lecce for their first league success of the campaign, but that momentum was halted by Inter’s greater depth and a bench that altered the contest after the hour.
Palladino kept Matteo Darmian in a back three alongside Nicolò Casale and Arthur Theate, while Lukasz Skorupski returned in goal after Pessina had featured in Lecce. Inter, playing between Champions League commitments, started with Josep Martinez behind Yann Bisseck, Manuel Akanji and Alessandro Bastoni. Piotr Zielinski filled in at the base of midfield for Hakan Calhanoglu, with Nicolò Barella captaining the visitors, while Luis Henrique and Federico Dimarco occupied the wide roles. Pio Esposito partnered Marcus Thuram in attack.
Bologna immediately showed their intentions. Within 17 seconds, a move from the left produced a dangerous ball across goal that Roberto Piccoli narrowly failed to reach. The hosts pressed high, with Nicolò Cambiaghi following Zielinski closely and disrupting Inter’s attempts to establish their usual midfield rhythm.
The early pressure told after 10 minutes. Luis Henrique lost possession to Juan Miranda on Inter’s right, and the move released Tommaso Pobega. Bisseck could not stop the midfielder’s surge into the area, and Pobega beat Martinez to give Bologna the lead. It was a deserved reward for a sharp opening, and a warning that Inter’s right side was struggling to contain the home side’s energy.
Inter had possession and several attempts without fully extending Skorupski. Barella was active throughout, while Luis Henrique missed a presentable chance from a set piece and Thuram headed over from Dimarco’s delivery. At the other end, Bologna continued to threaten. Bernardeschi forced Martinez into a save, Cambiaghi hit the outside of the net from close range, and Piccoli had to leave with a muscular problem around the half-hour mark. Jay Enem replaced him and quickly linked play well enough to create another opening for Pobega.
Pobega could have put the match beyond Inter’s reach before the interval. He sent one effort narrowly wide and then struck the crossbar in the 40th minute with Skorupski’s opposite number beaten. That was the moment Inter most needed to survive, and they did so before finding an equaliser in the 44th minute.
The move was patient, with Inter circulating the ball around Bologna’s crowded penalty area until Barella found space on the right. His cross invited Thuram to rise above Casale, and the Frenchman directed a firm header past Skorupski. Four of Thuram’s past 10 Serie A goals have come with his head, and the goal took him to six direct contributions in Inter’s opening seven league matches.
Bologna still finished the half with purpose. Zortea tested Martinez soon after Thuram’s equaliser, while Esposito came close at the other end in stoppage time, only for Skorupski to make an important close-range stop. The score at the break was level, but neither side had offered much comfort to its goalkeeper.
Chivu’s bench changes the direction of the match
The opening stages after the restart were quieter. Sucic sent a tame shot at Skorupski and Pobega again showed his range with a fine switch towards Bernardeschi, but the game had settled into a more cautious spell. Chivu first replaced the subdued Esposito with Ange-Yoan Bonny shortly before the hour.
There was controversy when Thuram went down after contact from Darmian in the Bologna box. Referee Daniele Doveri judged the Inter forward to have simulated and booked him, despite there being some contact in the challenge. Bologna also had bookings during the match, including Theate, while Sucic was cautioned after a stoppage involving Bernardeschi.
The defining intervention came in the 68th minute. Chivu withdrew Luis Henrique and Dimarco, sending on Andy Diouf and Carlos Augusto. Within a minute, the change had delivered. Diouf began the attacking sequence, Thuram helped the ball onwards, and Zielinski supplied Carlos Augusto at the far post. The Brazilian, who had only just entered, finished from close range to complete the turnaround.
It was another recovery that has become a notable thread in Inter’s season. Chivu’s team have now overturned a deficit on four occasions in Serie A. The only time they did not turn a losing position into a victory came against Roma, when they recovered only a draw.
Bologna tried to regain control through further changes, with Nikola Moro and Artem Dovbyk introduced for Pobega and Cambiaghi, while Helland came on for Theate. Inter had chances to settle the match earlier: Bonny was denied by Skorupski when through on goal, and Sucic then failed to hit the target from the rebound. Bonny also had a goal ruled out for offside after he had beaten Darmian and taken the ball past Skorupski.
The third goal eventually came in the 84th minute, and it carried the signature of Inter’s experienced players. Calhanoglu had entered for Zielinski, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first-time control and nutmeg on Zortea opened the route to Carlos Augusto. The Brazilian drove a low ball across the box and Bonny applied the final touch. Carlos Augusto had supplied both a goal and an assist after coming on, while Diouf’s introduction had transformed Inter’s right flank.
Inter saw out the closing minutes in a more guarded shape, with Bonny left as the lone forward and Mkhitaryan adding composure in midfield. The final whistle confirmed a result that looked unlikely when Pobega and Bologna were at their most forceful before half-time.
For Palladino, the defeat brought a first setback after the progress shown in Lecce. For Chivu, it was a reminder that his league leaders are not always able to make life straightforward, but they retain the resources to answer difficult moments. Inter can now turn their attention back to the Champions League, having protected their place at the top of Serie A.
Before kick-off, Inter president Giuseppe Marotta had addressed the club’s European ambitions and the need to learn from setbacks. “Even teams from the third and fourth pots have improved their football culture,” he said, pointing to Paris Saint-Germain’s route to last season’s competition despite three consecutive defeats before the play-offs. He also reiterated the club’s faith in Martinez, saying Chivu was best placed to assess the goalkeeper during the week, and insisted that Oaktree had demonstrated its commitment through investment in the stadium and facilities. “We are in good hands,” Marotta said, adding that the ownership group would act in Inter’s interests over any future corporate decisions.
