Inter returned to the Serie A summit with a nervy 2-0 win at bottom side Venezia, while a Samuel Mbangula hat-trick sealed a 4-2 win for Bologna at San Siro to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Milan. Champions Inter drew level with Lazio on 25 points at the top ahead of a hotly anticipated Milan derby meeting with their rivals on Saturday. Ruben Amorim’s side will go into that game on the back of losing their unbeaten streak after Alphadjo Cisse’s double was not enough to avoid defeat.
Venezia have picked up just three points all season but looked the likelier to make the breakthrough. Last season’s Serie B champions stunned Napoli with a win on new coach Davide Nicola’s debut and another shock result looked possible until they were undone in painful fashion late on. Matias Moreno and Redouane Halhal diverted dangerous deliveries into their own net in the space of two minutes to ensure Inter returned to the top of the standings and Venezia remained rooted to the bottom.
At San Siro, a lengthy injury list featuring the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Diego Moreira and Mario Gila restricted Amorim’s options for the first midweek round of the season, while the Milan coach left Christian Pulisic and Luka Modric on the bench. Mbangula, making his full debut for Bologna, swept home the opener inside eight minutes, but the visitors were soon pegged back when an Arthur Theate error gifted Cisse a simple finish. The Milan teenager struck again in the 27th minute, volleying home a Fikayo Tomori cross, but the game was turned on its head once again in the space of two second-half minutes to stun the San Siro crowd.
The unfortunate Davide Bartesaghi turned a free-kick into his own net before Mbangula struck again with a composed control and finish in the box just after the hour mark. The 22-year-old then completed a memorable night four minutes from time when he beat Mike Maignan for a third time with a smart finish after Bologna robbed the ball in midfield. Bologna sealed back-to-back wins for the first time this season to move into 11th place on 11 points.
Adrian Bernabe had a penalty saved by Maduka Okoye as struggling Parma and Udinese played out a 0-0 draw. Juventus and Napoli travel to Genoa and Monza respectively later on Wednesday. In the German Cup, forward Deniz Undav’s 90th-minute strike took Stuttgart to a 1-0 win at 10-man Paderborn in the German Cup last 32 on Wednesday, while Freiburg also won in stoppage time.
Stuttgart, finalists in 2025, had a one-man advantage after Laurin Curda’s 37th-minute red card but could not break down a stubborn Paderborn. With the clock winding down, Undav twice set Ermedin Demirovic through on goal but the striker blasted his shot against goalkeeper Markus Schubert both times. The former Brighton forward then took matters into his own hands and turned in a Chris Fuehrich cross with extra-time looming.
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