Inter hits helpless Bologna for six go fourth
Inter responded to Monday's (AEDT) Derby d'Italia defeat to Juventus by crushing Bologna 6-1 at San Siro, with Federico Dimarco's double helping the Nerazzurri climb into Serie A's top four.
Inter was up against it when Charalampos Lykogiannis benefited from a fortunate deflection to hand Bologna the lead on Thursday (AEDT), but Edin Dzeko swiftly equalised with a well-taken volley.
Wing-back Dimarco then produced two excellent finishes either side of Lautaro Martinez's flicked effort as Inter put Thiago Motta's sorry visitors to the sword.
Simone Inzaghi's men – who moved within three points of second-placed Milan with the victory – were not done there, with Hakan Calhanoglu and Robin Gosens adding further gloss to the scoreline.
Bologna went close through Musa Barrow and Marko Arnautovic early on and led when Riccardo Orsolini's 22nd-minute shot deflected off Lykogiannis and into the bottom-right corner.
Inter responded brilliantly to that setback, however, finding the net three times in the next 20 minutes.
Dzeko instigated the turnaround with an outstanding right-footed volley from near the edge of the area, before Dimarco left Lukasz Skorupski with no chance when he drilled a free-kick into the bottom-left corner.
The Nerazzurri then extended their lead as half-time approached, with Martinez flicking Calhanoglu's corner home at the near post to take the game away from Bologna.
Dzeko nodded against the crossbar as Inter chased a fourth after the restart, but Dimarco was not to be denied a minute later when he cut in from the right before producing a cool finish.
Joaquin Sosa's handball then allowed Hakan Calhanoglu to slot in a 59th-minute penalty, before Gosens completed the rout by converting Dzeko's cut-back with 14 minutes remaining.
