INTER Milan remained level with Napoli at the top of Serie A after Riccardo Orsolini fired Bologna to a last-gasp 1-0 win over the reigning champions on Sunday.
Orsolini flashed home a scissor-kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time to bring the house down at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara and move Bologna into fourth place.
Inter’s tight battle for the Scudetto with Napoli looks likely to go down to the wire after a tired-looking team were punished for a low-key display, which came in stark contrast to their thrilling Champions League win over Bayern Munich.
Simone Inzaghi’s team barely created a chance with nine of the 11 players who started against Bayern on Wednesday night on the pitch at kick-off.
“It’s a defeat that hurts because we shouldn’t have lost that match. We should have defended the throw-in better,“ said Inzaghi to DAZN.
“But it’s not like our season finishes here, far from it.
“We’re level on points and there are five matches left… it will be very difficult but we have plenty of faith.”
Inter have only won one of their last six Serie A matches away from home. Sunday’s defeat has given Napoli a clear opportunity to claim their second league crown in two seasons.
Napoli’s final five matches are all against the division’s also-rans while next weekend Inter take on Roma, a match which comes after the second leg of their Italian Cup semi-final with AC Milan and before their trip to Barcelona in the last four of the Champions League.
Inter lead Napoli on goal difference but a play-off will decide the destination of the title should the pair finish the season level on points.
Orsolini on fire
Orsolini’s 14th goal of a superb season boosted Bologna’s hopes of returning to the Champions League with fifth-place Juventus a point behind ahead of their clash with Parma on Monday night.
Bologna could well face Inter in the Italian Cup final as they have a 3-0 lead heading into the decisive second leg of their semi-final with Empoli on Thursday.
Orsolini has been a key part of Bologna’s surge since the turn of the year under coach Vincenzo Italiano, who was sent off in the 56th following a touchline row with Inzaghi’s assistant Massimiliano Farris.
“I was a bit behind the full-back and as soon as I saw that the ball was going past him I coordinated myself,“ said Orsolini.
“I try it quite a lot, but nine times out of 10 you don’t get the ball. This time it went well and I’m happy, for the importance of the goal and because the match was basically over at that point.”
Atalanta, in third, are four points ahead of Bologna and firmly back on course for qualification for Europe’s elite club competition after winning 1-0 at Milan.
Ederson nodded home the only goal of the game at the end of a brilliant counter-attack in the 62nd minute at the San Siro, where home fans again demanded American owners RedBird sell the troubled club.
Milan sit ninth, six points away from the European spots as a dreadful league campaign creaks towards its long-awaited end, with Wednesday’s cup derby their last chance to salvage something from the season.
Atalanta have turned a corner and would have won by more had the league’s leading scorer Mateo Retegui not fluffed his lines in the 74th minute, when Ademola Lookman rolled him a chance to tap home into an open goal.