In a make-up match in the 20th round of Serie A, tenacious Bologna made a big splash at the Renato Dalara Stadium, with Arnautovic's head hammer and the funny gift of the opposing substitute goalkeeper Radu, reversed Inter 2-1, not only entered the last 5 rounds of April unbeaten, and scored 5 points against the Northern Triwizard (previously draws AC Milan and Juve), Mihajlovic's team became the real Serie A champion arbitrator!
20 years home win Inter Milan How did Team Miha do it?
Although Bologna have scored six points in the past four rounds and remain unbeaten, almost no one predicts that they will be able to capture Inter, who are eager to grab points in this make-up match, after all, although Bologna has beaten Inter twice in the previous three seasons, it is a one-goal small victory at the Meazza Stadium, and the last time the team beat Inter at home in the league, it goes back 20 years, that is, the 22nd round of the 2001-02 season. Bologna, playing at home, won the Nerazzurri 2-1 thanks to goals from left midfielder Pecia (currently The Favourite Cremona manager for Serie B promotion) and forward Zauri (currently Juve U23 youth manager).
in Pecia
in Zauri
However, the unpromising Bologna has accomplished the impossible task, how exactly did they do it? First of all, the home battle of this campaign carried out a larger rotation, last weekend's draw with Udinese, in the starting lineup of last weekend, only left centre-back Tate, left wing-back Siki, right wing-back Silvestri, center forward Soriano and shadow forward Barrow, Mikhalin Flag waved back Skolupski, Medel, Swanbaily, Somaorro and Arnau, the 5 main players, returning to the starting 6 players, only Dutch back Shaoten is a rotating player, that is, Bologna is trying to fight Inter. As for Inter, there is only one rotation (Correa has replaced veteran Dzeko), which is at a significant disadvantage in terms of physical fitness.
Secondly, Bologna's tactical thinking in this campaign is quite correct, only high school striker Arnautovic is left in the defensive, and the other 9 players, including shadow striker Barrow, all retreat to the vicinity of the penalty area (pictured below), forming a numerical advantage and a ladder-type dense defensive formation, not only focusing on Inter's forward pillar Lautaro (Lautaro only hit the main frame range in 6 shots in this campaign), but also the defense of double back Swan Bailey and Showten against Inter's two main points of departure, Barrera and Char khanoglu, are also very targeted. In addition, Polish goalkeeper Skolupuski, who averaged 3.3 saves per game, also contributed to this campaign, which defused 6 of Inter's 7 shots.
It is worth mentioning that Bologna's defense is by no means deadlocked, although the team only has 41.4% of the possession, but in the possession stage is still brave to pass forward and create opportunities, its 418 passes are only slightly lower than the season average (438), and the 83% pass success rate is only slightly inferior to Inter (87%).
Of course, the highlight is Arnautovic's advantage at this high point, when he scored the headpiece of the tie (see GIF), the Austrian center-forward blew up the weakest link of Inter's 3 centre-backs - Di Marco. The 33-year-old Shanghai SIPG has scored four goals in nearly three appearances, faced Samp to pack two goals for his team, and has broken Juve and Inter in the last two games, and the 13 goals in 30 league games in a single season has also set a new career high. The Bologna players who worked so hard finally exchanged for Radu's super gift before the final game, which can also be regarded as a kung fu worthy of the heart.
Gold in April hard to shake the northern three turned into the title arbitrator
Bologna have remained unbeaten since April, scoring nine points in five games, the longest league unbeaten run of the season (two previous three-round unbeaten runs), and even more remarkable, Bologna scored five points against the Northern Final Three. In addition to reversing Inter in this game, he also won draws from Milan and Juve.
In the 31st round, facing Milan in the dud stage of the front, Bologna allowed the opponent to shoot 33 shots, but with the tenacious overall defense and Skolupski's seven saves, the Rossoneri's desire to win at home was dashed. In the 33rd round of away games against Juve, Arnau's goal gave Bologna a lead, and if it were not for the two defenders Somaoro and Medel (pictured below) who were reddish, it would have been difficult for Vlahovic to achieve a draw in stoppage time.
Bologna's recent performances have shaped the title race in Serie A. The 31st round of clean sheets for Milan brought the Rossoneri to a three-point winning streak and the lead was reduced to 1 point; the 33rd round of draw with Juve made the Zebras lag behind the top of the table by 8 points with 5 rounds left, and the hope of the championship was basically shattered; and the reversal of Inter in this make-up game made the Nerazzurri lose the initiative to compete for the title with 4 rounds left.
For Bologna, which team wins the title will have a limited impact on them, and Miha's side will try to continue the best form in the recent past, perform well in the last four rounds (home to Roma, Venice and Genoa, home to Sassuolo), and strive to reach the top half of the table at the end of the season (currently four points behind Sassuolo in 10th place).