Inter were jeered off the pitch by their own fans at the San Siro last night after their latest humiliation, a 3-0 defeat to Bologna.
This latest defeat, their fifth in six winless games and also the fifth time in that period they’ve failed to score, came hot on the heels of a home defeat to lowly Novara.
Over those six games Inter have conceded 15 goals, scoring just four times.
This run, which included a cup defeat to Napoli, has badly hit their Champions League chances, leaving them down in sixth and six points behind third-placed Lazio, who have played a game less.
To make matters worse they were also leap-frogged by Napoli, who won 3-0 at Fiorentina.
Veteran Marco Di Vaio scored a first-half brace within 60 seconds and Robert Acquafresca added insult to injury late on.
It was no less than Inter deserved for another performance devoid of confidence or invention in the final third.
But what really cost them, particularly in view of under-fire coach Claudio Ranieri’s pre-match assertion that they must stop conceding goals, was how catastro-phic their defending was.
And yet Inter started in total control of this match as Maicon leapt to meet a corner only to see goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet kick away his downward header.
Maicon was then picked out in the box again by Wesley Sneijder but this time he headed wide.
Uruguay forward Diego Forlan was presented with a glorious chance following a defensive mistake but Gillet came out well to block his shot with his feet.
And suddenly Inter went into meltdown as Di Vaio scored twice within a minute from defensive errors.
On 37 minutes Inter’s entire defence got drawn to their right as Bologna attacked down that side only for Diego Perez to pick out Di Vaio unmarked at the back post.
The forward cooly cut inside Yuto Nagatomo’s desperate last-ditched sliding tackle and then shot home.
And a minute later Andrea Ranocchia switched off when taking down a long ball on his chest, allowing Di Vaio to steal the ball from him and go on to finish calmly.
Inter had a half chance at the end of the half but Marco Faraoni snatched his shot and pulled it wide.
In the second period Nagatomo set up Forlan but he couldn’t get any power on his shot and Gillet managed to get across to stop the ball crossing the line.
Five minutes from time Ranocchia was again guilty of weak defending leaving Nagatomo with a one-on-two and Acquafresca surged past him before finishing low to Julio Cesar’s right.
In Florence, Edinson Cavani was the two-goal hero while Ezequiel Lavezzi added the injury-time cherry on the cake to give Napoli the perfect preparation for their Champions League clash against Londoners Cheslea on Tuesday.
Fixtures
Serie A
Fiorentina 0
Napoli 3
Cavani 3, 55; Lavezzi 90;
Inter 0
Bologna 3
Di Vaio 37, 38; Acquafresca 85;
Playing today
Juventus vs Catania - 20.45
Tomorrow – 15.00
Genoa vs Chievo
Cesena vs Milan
Lecce vs Siena - 12.30
Novara vs Atalanta
Palermo vs Lazio - 20.45
Roma vs Parma
Udinese vs Cagliari - 20.45
Standings: Milan 47; Juventus 46; Lazio 42; Udinese 41; Napoli 37; Inter 36; Roma 35; Palermo 31; Cagliari, Genoa 30; Fiorentina, Parma 28; Atalanta (-6), Catania, Chievo 27; Bologna 25; Siena 23; Lecce 18; Cesena, Novara 16.
Serie B
Playing today – 15.00
AlbinoLeffe vs Pescara
Ascoli vs Grosseto
Brescia vs Modena
Juve Stabia vs Reggina - 18.00
Livorno vs Bari
Nocerina vs Cittadella
Padova vs Empoli
Sassuolo vs Varese
Verona vs Gubbio
Vicenza vs Crotone
Monday – 20.45
Torino vs Sampdoria
Leading standings: Sassuolo, Torino 53; Pescara, Verona 51; Padova 45; Varese 44; Reggina 39; Brescia 38.