The conditions, including torrential rain and heavy winds, were hardly conducive to free-flowing football, but Thiago Motta has instilled confidence and belief into his squad since his appointment as manager in September.
Only league leaders Napoli had picked up as many Serie A points as Bologna’s 13 in the previous six matches, and the Rossoblu moved the ball cleverly in the opening stages.
After a quarter of an hour, they thought they had taken the lead when Modou Barrow fired a fierce shot past André Onana and into the corner, but Nicolas Dominguez was standing in an offside position as he obstructed the Inter shot-stopper’s view.
Despite that, Bologna continued to threaten, with Roberto Soriano smashing the crossbar after Andrea Cambiasso had stung Onana’s palms from outside the area. As the half progressed, Inter improved, and went close through Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu.
Their best chance, though, fell to top scorer Lautaro Martinez, whose header flew narrowly wide of the post. After the interval, the Nerazzurri began to show why they are Napoli’s closest challengers, albeit 18 points adrift prior to kick-off.
A quick move created a chance for Calhanoglu, but he could only fire over the bar, before Romelu Lukaku had a shot well saved by Lukasz Skorupski. Next up to try his luck was Edin Dzeko, Lukaku’s replacement from the substitute bench, and again, Skorupski was equal to it.
In the end, Inter's lack of a clinical edge in front of goal came back to haunt them when Riccardo Orsolini broke the deadlock with his seventh league goal of the campaign with just under 15 minutes remaining. It was a well-taken effort, too, the 26-year-old displaying plenty of composure as he volleyed over Onana.
Inter offered little indication of staging a comeback, allowing the hosts to see out the victory relatively comfortably. This was the first time this century that Bologna have registered back-to-back home head-to-head victories, and they are now just six points off a guaranteed European spot.
Simone Inzaghi’s men, meanwhile, will remain in second unless Roma win at least 6-0 later on, but their title challenge is all but over.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lewis Ferguson (Bologna)
