Lautaro Martínez celebrated another victory with Inter. © ANSA / Roberto Bregani

Inter Milan's formidable performance exacts revenge on Bologna

On Sunday evening, Inter secured their fifth consecutive league victory and returned to the top of Serie A.

04 January 2026

From: sn

Nearly two weeks after their bitter defeat in the Supercoppa semi-final against Bologna (3-4 on penalties), Inter have struck back: On matchday 18, the title favorites cruised to a 3-1 victory against the Rossoblu, reclaiming the top spot in Serie A from their city rivals Milan, who had briefly held first place. Cristian Chivu's team dominated the match for long stretches, giving Bologna, who haven't won since the end of November, little room to breathe.

Fueled by nearly 75.000 spectators, Inter started strongly and were repeatedly thwarted by Bologna's excellent goalkeeper Ravaglia in the opening stages. The deserved lead came shortly before halftime: after a superb combination involving Thuram and Lautaro, Zielinski fired a precise left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area to make it 1-0.

Thuram hits with his shoulder

Inter continued to dominate after the break. Lautaro Martínez headed home a corner to make it 2-0, but later missed a chance to double his lead when he hit the crossbar from close range. Bologna struggled to cope with the sustained pressure and for a long time owed it to Ravaglia that the scoreline wasn't more emphatic. Finally, Thuram sealed the victory with a somewhat fortuitous shoulder shot from another corner, making it 3-0 and scoring his tenth goal of the season.

Marcus Thuram provided a curious moment. © APA/afp / PIERO CRUCIATTI

Castro's late consolation goal from a free kick did nothing to change the Nerazzurri's deserved victory. Inter impressed with their dominance in midfield, great variety in attack, and once again high efficiency from set pieces.

Serie A, Matchday 18 – Sunday's matches

Lazio – Napoli 0:2 (0:2)
Goals: 0:1 Spinazzola (13th), 0:2 Rrahmani (32nd)

Fiorentina – Cremonese 1-0 (0-0)
Goal: 1:0 Kean (90+2)

Hellas – Torino 0:3 (0:1)
Goals: 0:1 Simeone (10th), 0:2 Casadei (87th), 0:3 Njie (90th + 1)

Inter – Bologna 3:1 (1:0)
Goals: 1:0 Zielinski (39th), 2:0 Martinez (48th), 3:0 Thuram (74th), 3:1 Castro (83rd)