Inter Have Finally Recaptured the Eye of the Tiger & Just in Time for Antonio Conte

Ten days is a long time in the world of calcio.

On Wednesday 25 November, Inter's season appeared to be in absolute tatters. Poor results in the league had seen I Nerazzurri slip five points behind leaders and bitter rivals Milan, while Antonio Conte's hate-hate relationship with the Champions League reached new heights.

The Italian has always struggled to repeat his domestic heroics in Europe, and with only two match days to go in the current edition, Inter were staring down the barrel of another humiliating group stage exit.

A limp 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid left Inter with two points from four matches, and five points adrift of Los Blancos in second place. For everyone concerned, that meant curtains. For Conte, it was another disaster he couldn't afford to fight off with his moany stick.

Off the pitch wasn't much better, either. All the talk swirled around the future of flop Christian Eriksen, who has failed to make any mark at San Siro since arriving from Tottenham last January, while forward Lautaro Martinez has hired super-agent Jorge Mendes to engineer a move away from Italy.

It all felt as if we were nearing the end days for the fiery Italian coach. Excuses at a maximum, results at a minimum. It was all very Chelsea 2018.

And yet, here we stand, ten days later, and the world is a much rosier place in Milano.

One major factor in I Nerazzurri's improvements is the return of key faces at the back. Conte's resistance to switch from a defensive three (despite only possessing one fit centre-back), left the coach plugging plenty of square pegs with round holes.

Aleksandar Kolarov is no longer good enough to play centre-back, just forget it. Fortunately, Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar have recovered from their injury and coronavirus woes, lining up alongside Stefan de Vrij in a much more comfortable and solid rearguard.

This revival all began with a real show of Conte fight and spirit against high-flying Sassuolo. I Neroverdi were hoping to capitalise on Inter's weak underbelly, but no such luck. Instead, the visitors blew Sassuolo away, scoring two early goals and then killing the game on the hour. A huge three points gained, and a reminder of just what this side can do when they're on form.

Next up, a trip to Germany. Travelling to group leaders Borussia Monchengladbach, it was really do or die for the visitors. I Nerazzurri stood up to be counted, largely thanks to superstar striker Romelu Lukaku and his superb brace.

That 3-2 win, combined with Madrid's shock defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk has left door slightly ajar for Inter to mount the unlikeliest of comebacks and escape from this unexpected group of death.

So, there'd been an upturn both in the league and in Europe. But that glimmer of hope needed to be transformed into something more concrete. And on Saturday, the confident and title-challenging Inter were back.

If their fixture with Bologna was in a Rocky film, we'd have just watched the inspiring montage, and realised that our protagonists had recaptured the eye of the tiger. The fire and intensity that had been missing for the previous month came roaring back, and everything finally clicked into place.

Alexis Sanchez was one man who certainly looked like he'd been binging on that franchise for inspo, linking up brilliantly with Lukaku in the final third, and the ex-Manchester United duo executed some blindingly fast counter-attacks to devastating effect.

Lukaku was on hand to fire Inter into the lead against Bologna, showing the strength and instinctive finishing that has reasserted his place among football's attacking elite. He should have added to his tally soon after, when Sanchez played him in behind the Bologna defence, but Lukasz Skorupski was up to the task.

The Polish keeper had no answer for Achraf Hakimi, however. The wing-back has been challenged by Conte to offer more in recent weeks, having started strongly but faded as the team slumped. He rose to his coach's goading, producing the type of display that left all of Europe purring during his two years at Borussia Dortmund.

The Moroccan first benefitted from a breath-taking, defence-splitting pass from Marcelo Brozovic, and having angled his run down the middle of the pitch, the wing-back applied the perfect finish to double his side's lead.

Even when Bologna found a way back into the match through an Emanuel Vignato tap-in, Inter didn't lose their heads and surrender as in previous disasters. Instead, they continued to play their game, and reaped the rewards.

Hakimi was at the heart of it again, bursting free on the right flank to cut in and curl a super finish into the far corner. And that was the game. No heart in mouths. No classic Inter crumble. A good old fashioned three points - something that Nerazzurri supporters have long been craving.

Ten days on from the brink of disaster, Inter sit in second place in Serie A, and with their Champions League ambitions still alive. What was all the fuss about?