Inter celebrated their 116th birthday in style, squeaking past Bologna 1-0 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table. Yann Bisseck’s first-half opener inspired Simone Inzaghi’s charges to a 13th consecutive win in 2024.
Though it wasn’t a memorable performance by any stretch of the imagination, Inter ended their two-game losing run at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. More importantly, their lead over second-placed Juventus has increased to 18 points, providing a perfect warm-up ahead of a crunch Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.
Failing to produce a single shot in the second half cast a shadow on Nerazzurri’s triumph. However, Inter manager Inzaghi maintains the upcoming trip to Spain might have distracted his men as they had to fight tooth and nail to hold onto a well-deserved first-leg advantage.
“We are very happy: we honored Inter’s birthday with a very big victory, increasing our lead over the chasing pack,” the Inter boss told the club’s website. “In the first half, we deserved the lead, then in the second Bologna came out on top and we suffered a bit.
“Perhaps, we were guilty of having thoughts on the game with Atletico midweek.“
It’s important to note Inter rested their superstar striker Lautaro Martinez. His absence led to an uneventful attacking showing, but runaway Serie A leaders got another crucial win over the line, knocking Bologna down from a six-game winning league streak.
Having upheld their 100% record in 2024, Inter can turn their attention to preserving a 1-0 lead in the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie versus Los Rojiblancos.
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