Inter have their best home run since May 2012, but George Rinaldi says they must be more clinical for third place.

It had looked as though Inter were going to be facing an uphill battle on Saturday evening. Mauro Icardi, their talismanic forward, was made to withdraw with a knee injury, leaving Roberto Mancini's men with Eder as their sole striker.

It wouldn't matter though, thanks to late goals from Ivan Perisic and Danilo D'Ambrosio that allowed them to march on toward a possible third place finish.

Mancini opted to go with the 4-2-3-1 formation as opposed to his other trusty tactic of a 4-3-3. This did alter due to Icardi's knock, meaning Geoffrey Kondogbia entered the fray, pushing Eder forward into the lone striker's role with Adem Ljajic and Perisic alongside him.

It worked wonders though, with 60 per cent of the possession falling into the hands of the Interisti and they made it count, forcing 17 shots on goal.

Despite this, only a measly three of those actually found its way on target, with two hitting the back of the net. This proves a real downside to Inter's fortunes, considering they need an out-and-out forward to put away such chances.

With Icardi going off injured, they lacked that bite upfront, even with Eder running the channels on multiple occasions. Little chances fell the way of the forward, yet when he was replaced and the tactics altered, more balls were played into and around the box.

Fortunately for Inter, it was the set pieces that saved the day for them. Two corners were the backbone in their goal-scoring exploits, with D'Ambrosio heading back across goal for Perisic to nod into an empty net.

The commentator's words exemplified the match itself and Inter's attack, stating "it was the only way a goal was going to come."

He wasn't wrong, considering just four minutes later they'd do the exact same thing. This time Joao Miranda headed the ball down to the flailing leg of D'Ambrosio to make it 2-0.

Even with the paucity of Inter's attack and clinical nature bar from corners, the goals are absolutely valuable to the Nerazzurri if they want to finish third. They are currently two points behind Roma, their opponents next week, who face Udinese tomorrow, whilst Fiorentina take on Verona.

The only real downsides arose from Icardi's injury, as he’s unlikely to be fit enough for that aforementioned massive six-pointer next week versus Roma. Rodrigo Palacio, another vital asset to Mancini's front-line, picked up a silly yellow card late on, also confirming his unavailability for the Olimpico trip.

If Inter and Mancini do want to finish third, they'll have to become more clinical in front of goal, or at least wrap up Icardi in cotton wool between games. Either way, this Bologna victory could be more important than one might think.

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