Could Bologna’s Win Over Inter Be The Turning Point In The Serie A Title Race?

The Serie A title race is the thing that just keeps on giving.

We could look back the race for the Scudetto in a month’s time and say that this week was the pivotal week, the week when things became clear.

Firstly, we had Empoli’s unlikely comeback against Napoli on Sunday afternoon which all but ruled out Luciano Spalletti’s side out of the running. Napoli were two goals to the good at the Carlo Castellani stadium before the home side hit back with three goals in 10 minutes that epitomised just how fragile Napoli’s mentality is, and put an end to their ever-diminishing hopes of a first title since 1990.

Secondly, the Sunday evening night game between Lazio and Milan produced an absorbing second half. The league leaders were 1-0 down for large parts of the game, before Olivier Giroud equalised, and then in the dying seconds of the game, Sandro Tonali stabbed home the winner after a Zlatan Ibrahimovic knock down.

And thirdly, Inter’s long awaited game in hand against Bologna took place at the Stadio Dall’Ara on Wednesday evening. Originally due to take place in January, the game was called off due to Covid infections and has always been Inter’s ace up their sleeve for most of the campaign. Even as they slipped behind both Milan and Napoli and then subsequently made up the ground over the last month, Inter knew they had a game in hand which had the potentially to bring them back to the top of the table.

Going into the game, an Inter win would see them go above Milan for the first time since early February. They got off to a good start in the third minute, as Ivan Perisic exchanged passes with Nicolo Barella, skipped past Musa Barrow via a nutmeg, and then smashed the ball from the periphery of the Bologna box into the top corner.

Inter couldn’t have asked for a better start in what was a game they simply had to win. And then things started to turn.

Marko Arnautovic, once a former Inter player, headed an equaliser after a tremendous cross from Barrow. Inter had their chances to widen the lead, but didn’t due to a combination of bad finishing and expert goalkeeping from Bologna’s Lukasz Skorupski. Even if you hadn’t seen the result, you know what’s coming.

With Nine minutes left, Inter goalkeeper Andrei Radu, playing his first league game of the season, attempted to move the ball along the back line after Stefan De Vrij allowed Perisic’s throw in to roll back to Radu.

Radu went over the ball and kicked mostly fresh air, slicing the ball in the direction of his own goal. Nicola Sansone had the duty of scoring the easiest goal of his career, kicking the ball before it went over the line. It was a horrendous howler from Radu, and the Romanian goalkeeper left the pitch in tears following the game, with his error perhaps being the vital one in deciding the direction of the title.

Post-game, Sansone joked that if Milan win the Scudetto, he should indeed receive a call from either the club or Paolo Maldini to say thanks, or at least loan him in for a season so he can play Champions League football.

In the context of the race, Radu’s blunder could be the moment where the trajectory of the Scudetto switched from one side of Milan to the other. The Rossoneri now have, for the first time, destiny in their own hands. Win their remaining games and they are champions for the first time since 2011.

With four games left, Milan unquestionably have the harder run in: home games against Fiorentina and Atalanta either side of away trips to Verona and Sassuolo. Inter meanwhile have Udinese, Empoli, Sampdoria and Cagliari still to play. Only Cagliari have anything left to fight for at this stage, but then again, Bologna had nothing to play for.

Yet there is the feeling that the fight for the Scudetto still has a few more twists and turns before the season is out. Neither Milan, Inter or Napoli have looked unwaveringly solid throughout the campaign, with nobody seemingly wanting the title at certain periods of the season. So it would be highly optimistic to say that Milan are now in the clear.

But should Radu’s mistake prove to be the monumental moment when the title shifted course, then in a way it would encapsulate this crazy Serie A season.