With Milan aiming to avoid their first finish below sixth in nine years and Bologna chasing a UEFA Champions League encore, this was more than just a tune-up for the looming Coppa Italia final.
There was no shortage of physical endeavour from either side, but sadly for Fikayo Tomori, he’d last just 12 minutes before being withdrawn due to a head injury sustained in an attempted challenge on Benjamin Dominguez.
Coincidentally, it was the Argentine who took the game’s first dangerous shot on target, as he stung the palms of Mike Maignan from distance with a low, rasping drive after a turnover in possession.
That aside, though, there was little in the way of cohesive play or clear chances, though Bologna arguably shaded the first half in terms of menace, with Riccardo Orsolini firing over the bar from Milan loanee Tommaso Pobega’s squared ball.
Never victorious in 11 prior personal H2Hs vs Milan, Orsolini had an entire break to reflect on that miss. But he channelled any frustration to devastating effect just four minutes after the restart, with a long ball seeing Thijs Dallinga leap to flick a header down the right flank into Orsolini’s path, and he had enough time to control the ball and fire it low into the far corner.
A response from the Rossoneri was inevitable of course, and after a treble change for Bologna, Theo Hernandez saw a promising mirror-image effort of Orsolini’s goal thwarted by Lukasz Skorupski. It was then that Sergio Conceição elected to respond in kind to Bologna’s raft of switches, bringing on a fresh trio of his own, including attacking duo Samuel Chukwueze and Santiago Gimenez.
With Milan now rejuvenated, it was the latter who made a near-instant impact, as a turnover in possession sparked a fluid team move for the equaliser.
A turnover in possession enabled João Félix to pass to Chukwueze through the lines, and though his attempted square to Giménez was blocked by Jhon Lucumí, the ball rebounded into the path of Christian Pulisic, and he played in the unmarked Giménez, who side-footed through Skorupski's legs.
The Mexican then momentarily appeared to have completed the turnaround barely two minutes later, when he lobbed Skorupski from a direct ball but immediately saw the flag go up.
It mattered not on 79 minutes though, as Pulisic turned goalscorer to seemingly snatch the points for Milan.
Once more, shoddy defending was Bologna’s undoing, as a long ball from Maignan down the left flank saw Chukwueze dribble skilfully past Charalampos Lykogiannis.
From there, he fed the ball to Felix, and though the Portuguese forward’s attempted shot was blocked by Sam Beukema, it fell to the onrushing Pulisic, who fired in to break the remains of Bologna’s feeble resistance. And with a well-taken third goal deep into added time from Gimenez (assisted by Chukwueze), that proved decisive in extending what was already a league-high of points recovered from losing positions (22).
Despite their shaky start, Milan were ultimately worthy winners, with their cause aided by an incredible show of courageous tactical intelligence. The result is potentially seismic in their hopes for Europe, and while Bologna still sit above them in the table, they will be under no illusion as to how much of an opportunity was missed.
Losing out on a first league double in 85 years is the least of their problems in the short term, and they can but watch the top-four chasing teams above them this weekend and pray for favourable results.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan)
Check out all the match stats with Flashscore.