Bologna 1-3 Inter: Chivu’s side go top after brilliant turnaround

Inter moved to the top of Serie A after coming from behind to beat Bologna 3-1 at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Saturday. 

Cristian Chivu’s side piled the pressure on second-placed Lazio ahead of their clash with Juventus on Sunday, with Marcus Thuram, Carlos Augusto and Ange-Yoan Bonny all on target. 

Bologna made a dream start inside 10 minutes as Juan Miranda dispossessed Luis Henrique before picking out Tommaso Pobega, who surged past Inter's defence and rifled a sensational effort beyond Josep Martinez at the near post. 

The hosts were dealt a blow on the half-hour mark when Roberto Piccoli was forced off through injury, though that did little to disrupt Raffaele Palladino's side. 

Pobega continued to threaten, going close to doubling his tally in the 40th minute after Nicolo Cambiaghi's strike was parried into his path, only for his follow-up to rattle the top of the crossbar. 

That miss proved costly just four minutes later as Inter levelled the scores through a delightfully simple move involving an unmarked Thuram, who rose highest to nod Nicolo Barella’s pinpoint cross into the top corner. 

Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was then called into action to prevent Inter from completing a swift turnaround before the break, reacting sharply to tip Francesco Pio Esposito's header over the bar. 

Inter continued to build on their momentum after the break, with Esposito failing to make the most of a close-range chance before Petar Sucic sent a tame effort straight into Skorupski’s hands. 

Those missed chances proved mere warning signs, though, as substitute Carlos Augusto completed the turnaround in the 69th minute, less than a minute after coming on, tapping home at the back post from Piotr Zielinski's centre. 

Sucic then squandered a golden opportunity to put the result beyond doubt after Bonny's effort was parried into his path, only for him to strike the outside of the post. 

Bonny thought he had added a third in the 82nd minute after drifting past Matteo Darmian and beating Skorupski, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. 

The Ivorian was not to be denied, though, as he put the result beyond doubt less than a minute later, thumping Carlos Augusto's cross past Skorupski and into the net. 

Chivu’s substitutes shine in comeback win 

Inter’s bid to seal back-to-back Scudetto titles has started strongly with Chivu’s side sitting comfortably in the upper reaches of the Serie A table across the opening weeks of the season. 

But the Nerazzurri were handed a stern test when Pobega broke the deadlock inside 10 minutes, though they responded emphatically to maintain their unbeaten start. 

Inter have now collected 19 points from their opening seven league matches for just the fourth time in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95), having previously done so in 2017-18 under Luciano Spalletti, 2002-03 under Hector Cuper, and 1997-98 under Luigi Simoni. Interestingly, though, they failed to win the Scudetto on each of those three occasions.  

On this occasion, Inter were no match for Bologna in the final third, registering 3.35 expected goals (xG) to the Rossoblu’s 0.90 xG. 

Chivu will be particularly pleased with the contributions of his substitutes, with Carlos Augusto and Bonny both playing decisive roles in the comeback. 

The Brazilian has now contributed to three goals off the bench, with a goal and an assist against Bologna, while Bonny has found the net twice as a substitute this term.