Inter vs Bologna: Penalty Shootout Defeat

Stefan de Vrij will not be able to lift the Italian Super Cup for the fifth time. In the Saudi capital Riyadh, the defender lost with Internazionale in the semi-final match on penalties to Bologna.

Experienced expert De Vrij took the fifth penalty himself and hit the crossbar. Routinier Ciro Immobile – with whom De Vrij won the Supercup in 2017 – subsequently did the same, meaning Bologna will play the final for the first time.

Napoli awaits in that final, which was already too strong for AC Milan on Thursday with a 2-0 win.

The Italian Football Association recognized early on the commercial value of playing outside its own borders. In 1993 and 2003 the finals were held in the United States. From 2009 to 2016, they mainly moved to China and Qatar and since 2018, Saudi Arabia has been the lucrative host for the Italian get-together.

For Inter, that trip is almost routine: the team has been in the final for the last four years and only lost the last. De Vrij played in all those finals. This is also the case in the semi-final battle.

This time the Dutchman, who has been given sparing playing time by coach Cristian Chivu this season, saw how Marcus Thuram beautifully opened the score within two minutes.

Bologna, where Thijs Dallinga had to watch the entire game on the bench, fought back into the match and leveled with a penalty from Riccardo Orsolini: 1-1.

Five minutes before the end, De Vrij could have decided the final, when he was able to head in completely free from a corner. However, the cross was just too high, meaning the Dutchman could not give the ball the right direction.

In that final phase, De Vrij had to deal with an old acquaintance. After all, Bologna substitute Immobile already helped Lazio win the Supercup.

De Vrij did not allow his former teammate a chance in regular playing time, but both would play a leading role in the penalty shootout.

That penalty shootout had remarkable parallels. Bastoni (Inter) and Nikola Moro (Bologna) missed their penalties with a roller through the middle, Niccolo Barella (Inter) and Juan Miranda (Bologna) shot high one after the other.

Ange-Yoann Bonny (Inter) also didn’t make much of it. Because Jonathan Rowe then hit the target, the pressure was entirely on De Vrij’s shoulders.

The Dutch international pushed the ball into the goal via the crossbar and the ground. And his old teammate Immobile did the same a minute later, sealing Inter’s fate.

On Monday, Bologna will play the final in Riyadh against Napoli of Noa Lang and Sam Beukema. Last year Beukema played for Bologna.