Martinez: Inter executed the perfect plan to end Bologna hoodoo

Lautaro Martinez says the increasing focus on a tactical plan to stop their poor run against Bologna was pivotal during Inter’s 3-1 win over them in Serie A on Sunday.

Martinez starred with a goal and an assist at San Siro, with the skipper first teeing up Piotr Zielinski, who thundered the hosts into a 39th-minute lead.

Cristian Chivu’s side pulled further clear five minutes after the restart when Martinez headed Hakan Calhanoglu’s inviting corner beyond the grasp of Federico Ravaglia.

Inter sealed the deal soon after through Marcus Thuram, though Yann Sommer’s clean sheet was snatched away seven minutes from time after Santiago Castro bundled home.

But it was a result that moved Inter back to the Serie A summit, with the Nerazzurri having seen title rivals AC Milan and Napoli leapfrog them in the table ahead of kick-off.

In addition, Inter also exacted revenge for their semi-final defeat to Bologna in the Supercoppa Italiana last month, with Vincenzo Italiano’s team winning that tie on penalties.

Coming into the game, Inter had won just one of their last five Serie A matches against the Rossoblu (D2 L2), after winning four of the previous five meetings.

“I said before the game that we had prepared a plan, and it worked so well, as we started with a strong press after losing the ball,” Martinez told DAZN Italia.

“That caused real problems for Bologna. Our midfielders also helped on the second ball, which is how we created the chances for the goals.”

With his goal, Martinez recorded his seventh different league season with 10+ more goals. Only Alessandro Altobelli (eight), Giuseppe Meazza and Benito Lorenzi (both nine) have recorded more such campaigns for Inter.

But the skipper was almost unable to feature for the rest of the contest after going down from Torbjorn Heggem’s early challenge, with the Bologna defender stepping on Martinez’s hand.

“These are three very important points for the team,” he added. “My hand hurts, but I push through it and give my all for the team, so I go home happy tonight.”

7 – Only Alessandro Altobelli (eight), Giuseppe Meazza and Benito Lorenzi (nine each) have recorded more different league seasons with 10+ goals in the history of #Inter than #LautaroMartínez (seven – 10 goals in the current #SerieA season). Relentless. pic.twitter.com/DZVUyCPnKa

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 4, 2026

It was Zielinski’s strike that got Inter on their way, though. The Poland international found the back of the net for the first time in Serie A since November 2 against Hellas Verona.

Zielinski had been deputised from the bench in the early stages of the season, but his influence on the Nerazzurri has seen him start their last four league matches.

“I’ve been in good condition for a while, I am glad that I can give my support to the team,” he added.

“It all went well apart from the late goal, we had it largely under control, which was important because we’d had problems with Bologna recently.”

Inter assistant Aleksandar Kolarov, who replaced Chivu on post-match duties because he had lost his voice, provided insight into the game plan involving Martinez and Thuram.

“Lautaro is what we have always seen, he is our captain and our leader, who always gives 100% in every single training session, too,” noted Kolarov.

“We prepared it this way today, trying to push a midfielder up and bring him back a little deeper to create a diamond, therefore isolating Marcus against their defender.

“Lautaro is so good at understanding when and where to move that he finds the right positions, which is how the first goal came about.”