Inter title hopes all but over after Juwara gives Bologna surprise win

Published July 7, 2020
MILAN: Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez (C) and Bologna’s Danilo Larangeira vie for the ball during their Serie A match at the San Siro.—AP
MILAN: Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez (C) and Bologna’s Danilo Larangeira vie for the ball during their Serie A match at the San Siro.—AP

MILAN: Teenage substitute Musa Juwara helped Bologna come from behind to win 2-1 at Inter Milan on Sunday in a pulsating Serie A game which saw both teams reduced to 10 players and the Nerazzurri miss a penalty.

Juwara canceled out Romelu Lukaku’s opener before Musa Barrow scored the winner 10 minutes from time.

“I really want to thank the coach for showing me that trust against Inter,” the 18-year-old Juwara said. “I’m really happy to score my first goal, which I want to dedicate to my family and all those who’ve helped me on my journey. The coach deserves the praise for this win. This is a dream for me and a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

won 1-0 at 10-man Cagliari.

“There’s not a lot to say because what happened is quite clear, and all of us need to take responsibility,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said.

“I’m primarily responsible, then its the players. We gifted them the match, and this is happening too often. I’m hugely disappointed, and I hope the lads are too ... It’s not the first time that something like this has happened. I’m asking myself questions and the players need to do so too.”

The Nerazzuri were looking to cut the gap to second-placed Lazio to one point and took the lead in the 22nd minute. Lautaro Martinez headed Ashley Young’s cross off the right post but Lukaku was on hand to tap in the rebound.

Barrow came close to equalising early in the second half but his effort hit the right post.

It appeared as if Bologna had thrown away the match when midfielder Roberto Soriano was shown a red card for dissent in the 57th and then moments later the visitors gave away a penalty when Mitchell Dijks tripped Antonio Candreva.

However, Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski parried Martinez’s tame penalty and then reacted swiftly to also stop Roberto Gagliardini’s follow-up.

The penalty was among a number of chances Inter missed and they were left to rue their profligacy as Bologna levelled in the 74th.

An awful clearance from Gagliardini came out to Juwara who fired it in powerfully for his first Serie A goal.

Moments later, Inter were also down to 10 men when defender Alessandro Bastoni was shown a second yellow for a foul on Juwara and sent off.

Barrow netted the winner three minutes later, finishing off a counterattack with an angled drive which squirmed under Samir Handanovic.

Atalanta were not at their free-flowing best but still did enough to claim their 10th straight win in all competitions against 10-man Cagliari.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men looked set to battle AS Roma for the fourth and final Champions League place when Serie A restarted following the coronavirus lockdown, but are now closer to leaders Juventus than they are to the capital club.

Luis Muriel scored what proved to be the winner from the penalty spot in the 27th minute after teenage Cagliari defender Andrea Carboni was sent off.

Napoli moved level on points with Roma after Lorenzo Insigne’s strike eight minutes from time grabbed Gennaro Gattuso’s men a 2-1 win over the fifth-placed outfit.

Jose Callejon put Napoli ahead 10 minutes after half-time at the Stadio San Paolo, and although Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalised with his seventh league goal of the season, Insigne had the final say with a magnificent curling strike from the corner of the area.

At the other end of the table, Genoa boosted their chances of avoiding relegation with a last-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 at fellow struggler Udinese.

Andrea Pinamonti’s penalty was saved but he fired in the rebound. Genoa moved two points above the drop zone, and five points below Udinese.

Brescia are six points from safety after a surprise 2-0 win over Hellas Verona but last-placed SPAL lost 3-0 at Sampdoria, who moved seven points clear of the relegation zone. Fiorentina won 2-1 at Parma.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020

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