Inter coach Antonio Conte on Sunday said that his team “gifted” Bologna a 2-1 win after they blew a goal and a man advantage to see their Serie A title challenge all but ended in dramatic fashion.
Conte’s men needed a win to move back to within eight points of leaders Juventus, and one of second-placed SS Lazio, but despite leading through Romelu Lukaku’s 20th league goal of the campaign and playing against 10 men, contrived to collapse to defeat.
Inter, who also missed a penalty when 1-0 up, are now 11 points off the pace with only eight matches of the season remaining and just one point ahead of fourth-placed Atalanta BC, who beat Cagliari 1-0.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It’s clear what happened, so there’s not much I can say,” Conte told DAZN. “We all have to take our share of the responsibility, first of all me as the coach, then the players who step onto that pitch. I think we gifted Bologna the game today and it’s not the first time. We have to ask ourselves questions now, both myself and the players.”
The hosts forged ahead midway through the first half when Lautaro Martinez headed Ashley Young’s left-wing cross against the post, but Lukaku was on hand to tap in.
However, Bologna always carried a threat and Riccardo Orsolini twice went close to equalizing before halftime.
Inter were gifted a golden opportunity to take total control 12 minutes into the second half when Bologna midfielder Roberto Soriano was sent off for dissent.
A crucial three points appeared almost certain when Martinez stepped up to take a 61st-minute penalty, but the Argentine saw his effort saved by Lukasz Skorupski.
That was the cue for Inter, chasing a first league title since winning the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2009-2010, to collapse in the closing stages.
Musa Juwara, on as a substitute, fired home a 74th-minute leveler, before the hosts also saw their numerical advantage disappear when Alessandro Bastoni was dismissed for a second yellow card.
The comeback was completed with 10 minutes left when Musa Barrow finished off a sweeping Bologna counterattack with a fine finish.
Atalanta BC were not at their free-flowing best, but still did enough to claim their 10th straight win in all competitions against 10-man Cagliari.
Luis Muriel scored what proved to be the winner from the penalty spot in the 27th minute after Cagliari defender Andrea Carboni was sent off.
SSC Napoli moved level on points with AS Roma after Lorenzo Insigne’s strike eight minutes from time grabbed Gennaro Gattuso’s men a 2-1 win over their fifth-placed opponents.
Jose Callejon put Napoli ahead 10 minutes after halftime at the Stadio San Paolo and although Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalized with his seventh league goal of the season, Insigne had the final say with a magnificent curling strike from the corner of the penalty area.
Elsewhere, Brescia moved off the foot of the table and kept their survival hopes alive by beating Hellas Verona 2-0, their first victory since December last year.
They are now six points from safety after 17th-placed Genoa rescued a 2-2 draw at Udinese thanks to Andrea Pinamonti’s 97th-minute equalizer.
UC Sampdoria defeated bottom-of-the table SPAL 3-0, while Parma fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to ACF Fiorentina.
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to
TO REAL MADRID? Kylian Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires, but this was the first time he acknowledged it publicly French soccer player Kylian Mbappe on Friday confirmed that he is to leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination. The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros (US$194 million). “I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video