Inter Milan continue to fight offensive struggles in 1-0 loss to Bologna

Some went to the right and some went to the left, but none seemed to find the target as Inter Milan’s offensive woes continued with a 1-0 loss to lowly Bologna Sunday at the Giuseppe Meazza.

The loss kept Inter in third in Serie A, but thanks to a 3-0 win over Sampdoria, Napoli was able to widen the margin to 11 points between second and third.

The biggest news, however, was Inter Milan’s complete lack of offense against a team with one of the worst defenses in Serie A. Coming into the match, Bologna had a goal differential of minus-18 — third worst in Serie A.

But, on Sunday, the Nerazzurri found the target difficult to come by as none of their shots in the first half were on target.

Sunday marked the first win for Bologna since September 2018.

It also renewed cries for Inter manager Luciano Spalletti’s ouster.

Inter Milan came into Sunday’s match desperately seeking a win as they were winless in their previous two Serie A matches.

And, in the first minute of the match, it looked like they would be off on the right foot after Bologna’s Andrea Poli attempted to clear a ball out of danger but found the foot of Icardi.

However, Icardi’s delivery was, albeit unmarked, wide of the target.

Minutes later, Bologna took a strike at goal with Riccardo Orsolini after a poor clearance from Stefan de Vrij, but he failed to hit the target. Santander also attempted a shot, but his header also went wide of the net.

Santander continued to put pressure on the Inter defense in the 13^th minute, but his attempt went wide to the right.

Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic tried to put Inter on the board, but as was with most of the first half, neither hit the target.

In the 26^th minute, Perisic hit Icardi with a cross, but the Argentine striker put his delivery to the left of goal.

In the 32^nd minute, all of Santander’s work paid off when he put a header in the back of the net following a smart cross from Erick Pulgar to give Bologna a 1-0 lead.

The Nerazzurri continued to flounder for the rest of the half as shots attempted where either high or well wide of the net.

In the first half, Inter managed six shots, but none of them were on target. They were able to increase their pass efficiency to 84 percent, but they only controlled the ball for 64 percent of the first half.

In the second half, Inter started to push more on offense as Cedric Soares and Lautaro Martinez each tried their hand at goal, but both missed wide in the first 20 minutes of the half.

In the 71^st minute, the Nerazzurri put their first real shot on target as Icardi attempted a shot from the center of the area, but Lukasz Skorupski was able to collect the shot.

After winning a corner in the 75^th minute, Joao Mario crossed in a pass that found the head of Matias Vecino, however Vecino’s header went to the left of the goal.

Late substitute Andrea Ranocchia had what would be Inter’s last shot at a goal in the 87^th minute when Dalbert found him with a cross. However, Ranocchia’s left-footed shot was saved by Skorupski in the top corner of goal.

Now, Inter will have one more Serie A match — Saturday Feb. 9 at Parma — before the first of their two-legged tie in the Europa League with Rapid Vienna.

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