Inter Milan 3-1 Bologna: Achraf Hakimi hits a brace to send hosts to second

Inter Milan 3-1 Bologna: Achraf Hakimi hits a brace as Antonio Conte’s side leapfrog Juventus into second… piling the pressure on city rivals and league leaders AC Milan

  • Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for Inter Milan at the San Siro on Saturday
  • It was quickly 2-0 to Antonio Conte’s side when Achraf Hakimi found the net
  • Hakimi’s goalscoring touch continued in the second half as he bagged a brace 
  • Victory takes Inter Milan to second, two points behind league leaders AC Milan 

Inter Milan wing back Achraf Hakimi bagged a brace after Romelu Lukaku had opened the scoring in a comfortable 3-1 win over Bologna in Serie A on Saturday.

The win left Inter second in the table with 21 points from 10 games, two behind AC Milan who face Sampdoria on Sunday.

Lukaku opened the scoring with his eighth league goal of the season in the 16th minute, although it was a somewhat scrappy effort, before Hakimi ran onto Marcelo Brozovic’s through ball to add a second on the stroke of half-time. 

Achraf Hakimi was the star for Inter Milan as they beat Bologna to rise to second in Serie A

Achraf Hakimi was the star for Inter Milan as they beat Bologna to rise to second in Serie A

Hakimi dedicated his first goal against Bologna to Mohamed Abarhoun, the former Moroccan international who passed away after suffering from cancer aged 31 last week

Hakimi dedicated his first goal against Bologna to Mohamed Abarhoun, the former Moroccan international who passed away after suffering from cancer aged 31 last week

Hakimi is an attacking wing-back and he is thriving in this 3-5-2 system used by Antonio Conte

Hakimi is an attacking wing-back and he is thriving in this 3-5-2 system used by Antonio Conte

Emanuel Vignato pulled one back in the 67th minute but Bologna’s revival was short-lived as Hakimi struck again three minutes later, cutting inside and bursting away from his marker before scoring with a low shot into the far corner.  

‘People talk about me being different, but I am the same, I have just been working hard and trying to make sure that I adapt to this new team and league. I’m still Hakimi,’ he told DAZN.

‘I am trying to learn the language, get used to the people, the city, and it’s not dissimilar to Spanish, so it shouldn’t take too long.

‘Conte talks to me a lot about the movements we need to make and we will get there eventually, it’ll become natural.

Romelu Lukaku set Inter Milan on their way as he got the opening goal of Saturday's game

Romelu Lukaku set Inter Milan on their way as he got the opening goal of Saturday’s game

Lukaku pointed to the Sky after scoring the opener as his rich vein of form continued

Lukaku pointed to the Sky after scoring the opener as his rich vein of form continued 

‘I realise that my pace is a useful quality, so when there’s a lot of space in front of me, I can get up a head of steam and be more effective for the team.’

Bologna boss Sinisa Mihajlovic was left disappointed that his side didn’t fulfil their potential on the big stage. 

‘We weren’t our usual selves. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough with them. I changed the system, but it’s because I didn’t have many attacking options and I didn’t want to move too many out of position,’ Mihajlovic told DAZN.

‘I therefore added an extra defender, but maybe they didn’t understand the move was not to be more defensive. We didn’t do much in the first half, but neither did Inter in fairness.

‘We were more aggressive after the break and scored a goal, but then conceded another within three minutes. 

‘At that point, I introduced some youth team players to get more experience and they were my only alternatives.

‘I did expect us to be more aggressive.’

Conte cut an animated figure but will be pleased to see his side leapfrog rivals Juventus

Conte cut an animated figure but will be pleased to see his side leapfrog rivals Juventus

source: dailymail.co.uk