Bologna’s Gambian duo Musa Juwara and Musa Barrow scored in the last 20 minutes to give the 10-man visitors an unlikely 2-1 win over Inter Milan who once again threw away a match that seemed to be theirs for the taking in Serie A on Sunday.
The contest turned on a remarkable double save by Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski who stopped a Lautaro Martinez penalty and parried away Roberto Gagliardini’s effort from the rebound when Inter were leading and playing with a man extra.
The defeat almost certainly ended Inter’s lingering title hopes as it left them with 64 points from 30 games, 11 adrift of leaders Juventus and four points behind second-placed Lazio with eight games remaining.
“I really want to thank the coach for showing me that trust,” said 18-year-old substitute Juwara, who according to Italian media reports arrived in Sicily by boat as an unaccompanied 14-year-old after leaving his homeland in 2016.
“I’m really happy to score my first goal, which I want to dedicate to my family and all those who have helped me on my journey. This is a dream for me and a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
The pattern of the game was all too familiar for Antonio Conte’s Inter side who missed an open goal and twice squandered the lead in a 3-3 draw at home to Sassuolo last month.
The first half went pretty much as expected with Romelu Lukaku giving Inter a 22nd minute lead with his 20th league goal of the season, reacting quickly to prod in the rebound after Martinez’s header hit the post.
After Barrow also struck the woodwork early in the second half for Bologna, the game seemed to turn Inter’s way when the visitors had Roberto Soriano sent off in the 57th minute for dissent
The hosts were awarded a soft penalty five minutes later after Antonio Candreva went tumbling over under the lightest of challenges but Polish keeper Skorupski’s remarkable double save changed the course of the match.
The equaliser came in the 74th minute from a throw in when the hapless Gagliardini miskicked an attempted clearance and Juwara lashed home.
Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for a second bookable offence three minutes later before Bologna’s Nicolas Dominguez released Barrow who slotted a neat finish past goalkeeper Samir Handanovic with 10 minutes left.
Exasperated Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte blamed himself after watching his team collapse again on Sunday, almost certainly ending their Serie A title challenge.
“There’s a great, indeed enormous, disappointment,” said Conte whose side were leading 10-man Bologna when they missed a second-half penalty and conceded twice to go down 2-1 to late goals by Gambian pair Musa Juwara and Musa Barrow.
“We managed to lose a match that we should have brought home comfortably. I’m angry with myself as the coach and responsible for what happens on the pitch,” said Conte, whose side had taken a first-half lead through Romelu Lukaku.
“The players must also be angry with themselves although they only have a small part of the blame.”
Inter, who have a habit of making life difficult for themselves, led the table in the early part of the season but have now dropped 11 points behind leaders Juventus with eight matches to play.
There was a long delay before Conte spoke to the press and some Italian media reports said he was involved in a meeting with club directors.
“It’s right to question all of us, first of all me because I was called to bring Inter back to victory after so many years,” he said. “Of course, it won’t happen overnight but this situation brings a lot of bitterness.
“We have not reached the standard we set ourselves. Everyone has to show they want to rise above the past years, otherwise it’s right to make other decisions”.
Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was happy with the result but also frustrated that his team, who are ninth, took so long to get going.
“We were poor in the first 20 minutes, we were afraid and there were too many wayward passes,” he said. “We really looked a completely different team in the second half.
“It wasn’t easy to be a goal down with ten men; this is a great victory, with character and conviction. However, we’ve sometimes waited to concede before we start to play. That’s not okay — we need to play from the off.”
Reuters
