Inter’s 1-0 Serie A win over Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara was an example of their pragmatic and mature approach, with the defence securing the victory, Italian media suggest.

Antonio Conte’s side took advantage of draws for AC Milan and Juventus earlier in the day to edge past Bologna and open up an eight point gap with a game in hand, courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s first half goal.

As reported in today’s newspaper edition of Corriere dello Sport, the win sees Inter move even closer to securing a first Scudetto since 2010.

“Cynical, concrete, pragmatic, even on a night without any spark Inter beat Bologna 1-0, through Romelu Lukaku, taking their advantage over Milan to eight points,” the newspaper claimed.

“Here is the beauty for Antonio Conte, who will have to recover for the match against Sassuolo but by now we can say that the Scudetto is getting closer and closer for the Nerazzurri.

“Bologna deserved praise and they played with great application, aggressive when they needed to be and covering behind to stop Inter finding space.”

Meanwhile, the defence was praised for repelling everything Bologna had, even in the dying minutes, as Inter clung on to a clean sheet and secured their victory.

“It should be emphasised that Bologna tried until the last minute, even if it seemed, as always, that Inter had built an impassable wall for their opponents to crash into.

“With his speed, [Musa] Juwara forced a couple of yellow cards for the Inter defence and there were one or two scrambles in [Samir] Handanovic’s area, but the physicality of Conte’s men always prevailed, both on the ground and in the air.”

Inter now turn their attention towards Wednesday’s rearranged Serie A match against Sassuolo at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, with the Nerazzurri hoping to extend their lead at the top to 11 points with nine games remaining.