Inter 0 Bologna 3
Claudio Ranieri's future as Inter coach was hanging in the balance tonight after the Nerazzurri were comprehensively beaten by Bologna, prompting nostalgic calls from the home faithful for former coach Jose Mourinho.
Two goals in a minute from Marco Di Vaio put the visitors in control in the first half of the Serie A encounter and Robert Acquafresca sealed the points five minutes from time, leaving Inter without a win in their last five games.
Mourinho's name could be heard echoing around the San Siro during the final five minutes of a match which once again laid bare Inter's frailties - they now risk falling eight points behind the top four this weekend.
The early signs were actually positive for Inter, with Maicon heading a corner straight at Jean-Francois Gillet in the 18th minute.
It was Maicon again who flashed a header wide of Gillet's post on the half-hour mark before Diego Forlan was denied by Bologna's Belgian goalkeeper.
Bologna had rarely ventured into the Inter half. But, when they did so in the 37th minute, they went ahead.
Diego Perez found Di Vaio in plenty of room to his right and the Bologna striker cut in past Yuti Nagatomo before shooting low past Julio Cesar.
Almost straight from the kick-off, a big mistake by Andrea Ranocchia enabled Di Vaio to double Bologna's lead. He was looking over the wrong shoulder when he chested a long ball back towards his own goalkeeper, but Di Vaio was lurking behind his other shoulder and he raced in to slot the ball past Julio Cesar.
Di Vaio almost completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute, but his shot was deflected wide of the far post.
The fans expressed their disapproval when Ranieri removed Uruguay striker Forlan and brought on midfielder Andrea Poli after an hour.
And their anger reached boiling point when another error by Ranocchia gifted Acquafresca the ball and he beat both Nagatomo and Lucio before scoring low past Julio Cesar.
Mourinho's name did the rounds as Inter's fans reminisced about the good times, although club president Massimo Moratti was no longer there to hear it having left the stadium at half-time.