Inter vs Bologna: Nerazzurri look to bounce back
Reigning Scudetto champs Inter will be looking to bounce back as they take on Bologna in Serie A action on Saturday. It’s been a difficult week for new coach Simone Inzaghi, who saw his side fail to hold onto a lead and have to settle for a 2-2 draw with Sampdoria. Then, in their Champions League opener, Inter thought they’d done enough to secure a draw with Real Madrid, only for the Spaniards to snatch all three points in heartbreaking fashion thanks to a late goal.
As such, Inter will be seeking to rebound in this match. However, it may be a lot easier said than done. Bologna are enjoying a successful start to the season, and like the Nerazzurri, will come into this game on seven points. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men have also won two and drawn the other of their first three games, and more important, have managed to keep back to back clean sheets against Atalanta and Hellas Verona. They did have to survive a nervy season opener against newly promoted Salernitana, with the minnows doing everything they could to leave the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara with a point, but managed to come out on top in a crazy match that saw three players sent off and all five goals scored in the second half.
Austrian international Marko Arnautović, who is of Serbian heritage, has been a strong performer for the Rossoblu, with one goal and one assist to date. It’s safe to say that the visitors will be determined on the big striker to come up with the goods here, as they seek to become the first team in a long time to win a match at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Indeed, despite their loss to Real Madrid earlier this week, Inter have been quite formidable on home turf, where they’ve gone 18 games sans defeat – a record dating back to last season when they won the Scudetto under Antonio Conte.
In addition, Bologna will also be looking to finally score a road game; while they did battle to a point against Atalanta, that game ended as a nil-nil affair. The visitors will arrive in Milan with a clean bill of health, as they don’t have any key players out due to suspension or injury. Inter, by contrast, will have to make do without long-term absentee Christian Eriksen as well as Stefano Sensi. And while the visitors will be facing a tough test, they may really be fancying their chances, as interestingly enough, they’ve won four of their last nine away games against Inter. For Arnautović, scoring against the team he briefly played for as a youngster before being jettisoned will certainly be on his mind, while his manager would certainly also enjoy getting one over on the team he once played for and had publicly expressed hopes of managing someday.
Both teams are unbeaten so far in Serie A this season. Will Inter recover after a bad week and end Bologna’s solid start? Or will the Rossoblu heap more misery on Inzaghi’s squad to cap off a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing past seven days?
