Lautaro Martinez and Piotr Zielinski didn’t hide how much Inter’s tactical plan mattered in finally breaking their Bologna curse with that 3-1 win. “My hand hurts, but I’m heading home happy tonight,” Lautaro said with a grin.

So, Inter grabbed their fifth Serie A win in a row and held onto first place. But this one meant even more—they wanted to send a message after what happened last time against Bologna. Just a couple of weeks ago, Bologna knocked them out of the Supercoppa Italiana on penalties. And last season’s loss at the Stadio Dall’Ara? That stung, and it cost them in the title race.

Not tonight, though. Piotr Zielinski, Lautaro Martinez, and Marcus Thuram all found the net, and only a late goal from Santiago Castro gave Bologna anything to smile about.

Inter had been struggling with Bologna lately, no question.

Lautaro explained, “Before the game, we made a plan, and honestly, it worked perfectly. We pressed hard right after losing the ball, and Bologna couldn’t handle it. Our midfielders were right there on the second ball, which set up our chances. That’s how we got our goals.”

Lautaro’s on fire—six goals in his last five Serie A games. Still, the night started rough. Early on, someone stepped on his hand. Didn’t stop him, though.

“These three points mean a lot. My hand hurts, yeah, but I play through it and give everything for the team. That’s why I’m happy tonight.”

He also had a laugh, celebrating with Thuram after that odd goal—Thuram kind of bundled it in with his chest, barely knowing what hit him.

“We had one last sprint after that goal. I’m happy for him—he deserves it. Everyone’s working for the team, and we all want to take Inter as far as we can.”

Zielinski grabbed his second Serie A goal of the season—his third in all competitions—and he’s turning into a regular under Cristian Chivu.

“I’ve been feeling good for a while now, and I’m glad I can help the team,” Zielinski told DAZN Italia.

“Everything went well, except for that late goal. We were in control for most of it. That matters, especially given our recent problems against Bologna.”

Maurizio Sarri didn’t hold back—again—when talking about Lazio’s lack of preparation for selling Taty Castellanos. He also called out the team for making mistakes against Napoli.

He’d hoped for an easier day, especially after recovering from minor heart surgery over the holidays. Instead, he got a wild match: three red cards, tempers flaring, and chaos everywhere.

Matteo Politano set up goals for both Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani. Then Tijjani Noslin picked up a second yellow for a clumsy tackle, and things really boiled over with a scrap between Adam Marusic and Pasquale Mazzocchi.

Now Lazio has racked up seven red cards in Serie A this season. Noslin and Marusic sit out the next match against Fiorentina, and Boulaye Dia and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru are still away at AFCON. The squad’s stretched thin.

Sarri’s frustration is hard to miss, both with what’s happening on the pitch and off it.

“We lost because Napoli is a stronger team, but honestly, we didn’t help ourselves in the first half,” Sarri told DAZN Italia. “Losing happens, but we should have done better. Dealing with those attacking wing-backs is a headache for any team.

“The first goal? The cross was slow and easy to read. We knew exactly where it’d end up, but we still messed up.”

Lazio couldn’t make many changes to the squad last summer because of financial rules. Those restrictions are gone now, thanks in part to selling Castellanos to West Ham for €30 million. Still, they haven’t signed anyone to replace him yet, and now there’s talk that Fenerbahce wants to pay €27 million for Matteo Guendouzi.

“Castellanos was ready to leave, so it’s tough to keep a player in that situation,” Sarri said. “We saw this coming. Honestly, we should’ve been more prepared.”

Everyone expects Lazio to jump back into the transfer market. What does Sarri want? He’s clear about that.

“You’ll have to ask the director. I told him we need important players in key positions. There’s no use signing guys who aren’t better than what we already have.

“Where this goes now is up to the club and the director.”