Inter took advantage of poor results for two of their Scudetto rivals to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to eight points with a victory over Bologna on Saturday night.
Antonio Conte’s men would have witnessed both Milan and Juventus lose important points earlier in the day in their respective draws, which means that a victory at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara could very well seal a first title win since 2010.
Inevitably, it was Romelu Lukaku who forced the winner home in half an hour. He hit a wonderful Alessandro Bastoni cross in the forehead, and the host’s goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia was unhappy to see his fine save from the Belgian’s head land back at the striker’s feet, so he could literally hit home.
Romelu Lukaku brings home a fantastic post from Bastoni and Inter leads! ? ⚫
A big save on Lukaku’s first effort, but he’s hard to stop this season? pic.twitter.com/NQVMAWcfwL
– Premier Sports? (@PremierSportsTV) April 3, 2021
It was Lukaku’s 20th league goal in the campaign and left him in some esteemed Nerazzuri company.
Roberto Soriano missed a golden opportunity for Bologna in extra time at the end of the half, but Inter survived that intimidation to go into the break.
Five minutes into the second period, Lautaro Martinez was unlucky to see his right-footed cannon from the woodwork before being pulled back shortly after.
7 – Romelu #Lukaku is the seventh player to score 20+ goals in two Serie A campaigns in a row with #Inter, after Giuseppe Meazza, Amedeo Amadei, Roberto Boninsegna, Mauro Icardi, Stefano Nyers and Christian Vieri. Sniper. # BolognaInter pic.twitter.com/gd8T6B53A6
– OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 3, 2021
Inter continued to struggle and press in search of the other to make it comfortable, but the visitors struggled to create many clear chances. The closest they came to doubling the advantage was a deflected free kick from Alexis Sanchez that was tipped over the crossbar by Ravaglia.
The last quarter was interrupted by a number of nasty fouls and subsequent bookings for both sides, where mood sometimes threatened to boil over.
However, Inter’s management was never really threatened and they will be happy with a victory with a goal that gives them a probably inaccessible lead at the top of Serie A, with a match in hand over second place Milan.
