Inter win at Venezia to stay level with Lazio, Milan crash against Bologna

Serie A's Inter Milan maintained their top position with a 2-0 victory over bottom club Venezia. Meanwhile, Bologna secured a 4-2 win against AC Milan at San Siro, marking Milan's first league defeat of the season. Inter's win has put them level on 25 points with Lazio at the top. AC Milan will face a crucial Milan derby against their rivals on Saturday, coming off a loss that dropped them to fifth place with 18 points.

Inter's manager, Cristian Chivu, acknowledged that their performance was not ideal for a derby setting, commenting, "We go into that game with eight wins and a draw and are aware that it is a derby. We need to regain mental and physical energy." Chivu also regretted having to make changes during the match, stating, "If I could have, I would have changed the entire team."

The match started nervously when Lion Lauberbach put Venezia ahead after 29 minutes, only for Inter's goalkeeper Ivan Provedel to deny the goal for offside. Bologna took the lead in the match against AC Milan with Samuel Mbangula's goal in the eighth minute, but AC Milan responded quickly. Arthur Theate's mistake allowed Cisse to score in the 20th minute, followed by a goal in the 27th minute from another Milan player, Fikayo Tomori.

However, Bologna regained control late in the game when Mbangula scored a third goal for the team, and a fourth goal in the 86th minute, turning the tide of the match.