Bologna continues its climb up the standings with Pobega and Bernardeschi: Monza falls after a comeback, Cutrone misses the penalty that would have tied the game
Bologna, led by Raffaele Palladino, continues its climb up the standings with its third win in the last four matches: at the “Dall’Ara,” the Rossoblù secured another three valuable points by coming from behind to defeat Monza 2-1. The win—which came in part thanks to a missed penalty by Monza in the closing minutes—allows the coach from Mugnano (who, incidentally, faced his former team today) to celebrate his team’s entry into the top ten of the standings, at least for one night.
Right from the start, however, it was the visiting team that scored: as early as the 4th minute, referee Zanotti awarded a penalty for contact in the box between Theate and Dany Mota, though it took a couple of minutes for Gustavo Varela, stepping up to the spot, to beat Skorupski and score his ninth league goal, which puts him back at the top of the scoring leaderboard with nine goals.
The match was tense: within ten minutes, the referee had noted down a yellow card for each of Mangas (Monza), Odgaard, and Pobega (Bologna). The former Milan player, however, more than made up for his nervousness by scoring the equalizer in the 33rd minute: from a corner kick taken by Miranda, the ball reached Pobega’s left foot, and he volleyed it past Tornqvist, leaving him with no chance. Buoyed by their enthusiasm, the Bologna players continued to press, but without success until the end of the first half, which ended 1-1.
The turning point came in the 59th minute: Lucchesi was penalized for pulling Theate down in the box (the Lucca player also received a yellow card); Bernardeschi stepped up to the penalty spot and made no mistake, completing the comeback with the goal that made it 2-1. Juric’s response came with the substitutions of Mout for Colombo, Touré for Kouadio, Ngonge for Mota, and Cutrone for Varela. Cutrone himself had a chance to tie the game in the 80th minute, again from the penalty spot following a handball by Zortea in the box; however, the former Milan player was read by Skorupski, who saved the attempt.
Monza’s late push in the final minutes failed to produce the equalizer: Bologna emerged victorious. After starting the season with two points in five games, they’ve earned nine points in their next four, while Monza faces a mirror image of that trend: in fact, they have suffered three losses in their last four matches, compared to just one win during that stretch, which came against Cagliari.
