Soccer Football - Serie A - Bologna v Inter Milan - Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy - March 9, 2024 Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi and Alexis Sanchez in action with Bologna's Sam Beukema REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
BOLOGNA, Italy (Reuters) -Runaway Serie A leaders Inter Milan continued their march towards the title as a first-half goal by Yann Bisseck sealed a 1-0 victory over Bologna on Saturday.
Inter moved to 75 points and an 18-point lead over second-placed Juventus, who host Atalanta on Sunday. Bologna are fourth on 51 points after 28 games.
Simone Inzaghi's Inter have won all 13 competitive matches this year and suffered only one league loss all season.
Inter broke the deadlock after 37 minutes through Bisseck's diving header from Alessandro Bastoni's precise cross.
"We maintain the gap from those who are following us. We fully deserved the lead in the first half, then Bologna proved why they are in their current position," Inzaghi told DAZN.
"We started to feel some fatigue and thoughts wandered over to the games that we have coming up."
Taking advantage of a defensive error at a rainy Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Inter's Nicolo Barella had the first chance but his one-on-one attempt was saved by Lukasz Skorupski.
BOLOGNA DOMINATE
Bologna, who had won six Serie A matches in a row, dominated the second half, denying Inter a shot on goal but failing to find the net themselves.
Joshua Zirkzee came close for the hosts near the end but keeper Yann Sommer got down to block his low shot from the edge of the box.
A defensive Inter hung on despite an injury to striker Marko Arnautovic who had to leave the field for treatment.
Bologna coach Thiago Motta praised his side's performance.
"I don’t know if that’s a winning mentality or what, but I sense we can fight it out with anyone," Motta told DAZN.
"I have to congratulate Inter, because they played the game they wanted to play, the game they had to play in order to win, and deserve everything they’ve got at the moment."
Inter visit Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday with a 1-0 lead.
"Atletico are a team who change a great deal when they are at home compared to away. We know the players they have, the kind of coach that Cholo (Diego Simeone) is, so we’ll try to prepare as best we can." Inzaghi said.
The environment in the Wanda Metropolitano will influence (the game) but this is a target we’ve set ourselves, to keep going in the Champions League."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris and Ed Osmond)
