The Monday Scratch

Bologna still fatal to Inter (who fail to overtake Napoli). Atalanta beat Milan and consolidate third place

by Dario Ceccarelli

21 April 2025

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5' min read

Key points

Bologna ahead
Poor Count's Sorrows

5' min read

Nothing doing: it's a tried and tested script. A classic of championship comedy. One of the few certainties in this world. When Bologna is involved, and Inter are in the title race, you can be sure that Inzaghi's team will get the worst of it. Guaranteed. It has already happened in 2022 when the Rossoblu tripped the Nerazzurri (Arnautovic's goal with Radu's blunder) which then gave Milan the wings to win the Scudetto.

Without going to the ghosts of the 1964 play-off (and the more recent ghosts of an elimination from the Coppa Italia), it is never a good deal for Inter to get past Bologna. Inzaghi feared it, and in fact Fatal Bologna struck again, dealing Inter a fresh blow at the very moment when the leaders should have been pulling ahead of Napoli in the final sprint to the finish line.

A fine tumble, that of Inter at the Dall'Ara, which came just in extremis when everything seemed to be heading for a bloodless zero-zero (with Bologna prevailing) that would have left the Nerazzurri in the lead, albeit by just one point over the Neapolitans. A point that would have been little and a lot at the same time. Because in front is always better, especially if whoever is chasing (Napoli) is not bursting with health.

And instead. And instead, because football is the worst game there is, on the last play, in the 94th minute, after a throw-in by Miranda (taken quite a few metres ahead), Riccardo Orsolini, 12 goals in 24 matches, invented a half-volley that beat Sommer and, above all, overthrew Inzaghi, who was now sure that this time he had beaten them. Moral of the story: the two rivals, Inter and Napoli, are now paired at the top with 71 points with five days to go.

With one difference, however: that Napoli, despite all Conte's theatrics, can devote themselves exclusively to the fight for the title, being able to count on a calendar (Turin, Lecce, Genoa, Parma and Cagliari) that is almost all downhill. While Inter are entering a hellish round where in 40 days they play for three trophies that can either be sublimated into the Impresa Eccezionale (the Triplete 2) or turn into an abrupt downsizing that would be very difficult to bear.

We know: dreams are beautiful and it is right to try to realise them. But they become trouble if they disappear like mirages a few metres from the finish line. In the first case, if you realise them, you are the Best, and everyone will magnify you as with Inzaghi after Bayern. In the second, as with Ancelotti after Real's Champions League exit, you will be branded a poor loser to be quickly retired.

Bologna full ahead

However, before continuing to talk about Inter and Napoli, and their laborious progress towards the goal, it is only fair to give Bologna its due, currently fifth, two points behind Juventus, who face Parma at the Tardini tonight. Let's face it: beating Inter, although drained by the Champions League challenge, was not easy. Even president Marotta, who almost never blurts it out, had called it 'the most important match of the year'. However, a big obstacle in the Scudetto race. So much so that Inzaghi himself had opted for a formation almost identical to the one on Wednesday at the San Siro. Beating this Inter side, still on an adrenaline rush for the Champions League, was therefore no picnic. And even though the goal came in extremis, Bologna's success was deserved both for domination and goal chances.

Vincenzo Italiano, after the skid seven days ago against Atalanta, must be given credit for getting Bologna back on track. A Bologna that has never lost at home in 2025 (7 wins and 2 draws between A and cups). The opposite of Inter, which, as in Parma, just does not shine in away matches. Among the other problems, apart from the various ailments of his players, Inzaghi will also be without Bastoni and Mkhitaryan on Saturday against Roma, as they have been cautioned and picked up a yellow card.

The Sorrows of the Poor Count

The paradox, even after the fall of Inter, is that Conte continues to complain about whatever. A pot of beans constantly boiling to corner De Laurentiis accused by the coach of having a short fuse. Says Conte: 'I want the weapons so that I don't get slaughtered next year. I don't want to put my back to be abused. I saw looting and vultures. I didn't like it...'.

What can I say? 'Pigliate 'na pastiglia', Renato Carosone would suggest. It is true that Napoli does not have a long and strong squad like Inter's, true that Kvaratskhelia's absence has made itself felt, but it is also true that Napoli is the only top team focused only on the championship. And if it struggles to beat Monza, last among the last, some responsibility will also go to the furious Conte, who always complains 'of not having the means'. And he has to thank Raspadori, who came on in the second half, and whose kiss-like assist allowed MacTominay to score his ninth goal in the championship. Conte, considered a genius no matter what he says, should also explain why a national player like Raspadori always ends up on the bench. Football mysteries

Milan-Atalanta (0-1). While Inter and Napoli struggled for the Scudetto, the Dea strengthened their third place by beating (0-1) an AC Milan, who gave us another of their dull performances in this useless and mediocre championship. It is not that the Dea is doing wonders, but with a good second half - and a beautiful header goal by Ederson - it manages to definitively leave behind a crisis that had cost it a triple defeat with Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, exposing it to the risk of losing its place in the Champions League. The opposite was true for Milan who, as expected, after a good performance (the 4-0 win against Udinese) plunged back into the abyss of an endless crisis. Even against Atalanta, little or nothing was seen. Not even after Ederson's goal. A poor Diavolo with many attackers thrown in, even five, but with very few shots on goal.

Now pinned down in ninth place, Milan can only hope for Europe in the return leg against Inter in the Coppa Italia. On paper, it has very little chance. But this Milan team is so unpredictable that all predictions are banned. Don't tell that to Inzaghi who, after the fall with Bologna, gets hives when he hears such talk.