Late Orsolini stunner leaves Inter level with Napoli in tight Serie A title tussle

BOLOGNA, Italy — Inter Milan remained level with Napoli at the top of Serie A after Riccardo Orsolini fired Bologna to a last-gasp 1-0 win over the reigning champion on Sunday.

Orsolini flashed home a scissor-kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time to bring the house down at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara and move Bologna into fourth place.

Inter's tight battle for the Scudetto with Napoli looks likely to go down to the wire, after a tired-looking Nerazurri side was punished for a low-key display, which came in stark contrast to its thrilling Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

Simone Inzaghi's team barely created a chance with nine of the 11 players who started against Bayern on Wednesday night on the pitch at kickoff.

"It's a defeat that hurts, because we shouldn't have lost that match. We should have defended the throw-in better," said Inzaghi to DAZN.

"But, it's not like our season finishes here, far from it.

"We're level on points, and there are five matches left. It will be very difficult, but we have plenty of faith."

Inter has only won one of its last six Serie A matches away from home. Sunday's defeat has given its rival Napoli a clear opportunity to claim its second league crown in two seasons.

Napoli's final five matches are all against the division's also-rans, while Inter takes on Roma next, a match which comes after the second leg of its Italian Cup semifinal with AC Milan and before its trip to Barcelona in the last four of the Champions League.

Inter leads Napoli on goal difference, but a playoff will decide the destination of the title should the pair finish the season level on points.

Key component

Orsolini's 14th goal of a superb season boosted Bologna's hopes of returning to the Champions League, with fifth-placed Juventus a point behind it ahead of the Turin side's clash with Parma on Monday night.

Bologna could well face Inter in the Italian Cup final, as it has a 3-0 lead heading into the decisive second leg of its semifinal with Empoli on Thursday.

Orsolini has been a key part of Bologna's surge since the turn of the year under coach Vincenzo Italiano, who was sent off in the 56th minute following a touchline row with Inzaghi's assistant Massimiliano Farris.

"I was a bit behind the full-back, and, as soon as I saw that the ball was going past him, I coordinated myself," said Orsolini.

"I try it quite a lot, but nine times out of 10 you don't get the ball. This time, it went well and I'm happy — for the importance of the goal, and because the match was basically over at that point."

Atalanta, in third, is four points ahead of Bologna, and is firmly back on course for qualification for Europe's elite club competition after winning 1-0 at AC Milan.

Ederson nodded home the only goal of the game at the end of a brilliant counterattack in the 62nd minute at the San Siro, where home fans again demanded American owner RedBird Capital Partners sell the troubled club.

Milan sits ninth, six points away from the European spots, as a dreadful league campaign creaks toward its long-awaited end, with Wednesday's cup derby its last chance to salvage something from the season.

Atalanta has turned a corner, and would have won by more had the league's leading scorer Mateo Retegui not fluffed his lines in the 74th minute, when Ademola Lookman rolled him a chance to tap home into an open goal.

AFP