A gem and a few strong saves denied Roma their third win a row. Bologna took home their fourth victory in the past five rounds, moving to the sixth position in the standings. The Giallorossi now hold a slim lead over Fiorentina, Juventus, and the Felsinei.
Due to the matching tactics and high intensity and defensive focus by both sides, the game was a proper stalemate for about half an hour. Bologna lost Marko Arnautovic after 15 minutes to an apparent thigh injury. Mattias Svanberg cracked it open with a surgical strike out of the blue. Nicolas Dominguez recuperated a ball deep into enemy territory and slipped it to the teammate, who put it in the bottom corner with a fantastic trajectory.
The goal prompted Roma’s reaction. Tammy Abraham almost lofted it over Lukas Skorupski deflecting the ball with his knee, but the goalkeeper recovered his footing after losing it in time to catch the ball. In the final minutes of the first half, Nicolò Zaniolo ripped one of his trademark runs through the middle, but his shot was too central.
Roma could not fully lay siege despite getting increasingly offensive. They still managed to create a few chances, but Skorupski always answered the bell. Abraham was in the middle of most dangerous actions with his energy, both finishing and assisting. The Polish goalkeeper stopped a sure-fire effort by Henrikh Mkhitaryan at the 71st minute. He did the same later on a close-range attempt by the English striker.
The final opportunity for the Giallorossi came in the stoppage time. Matias Vina uncorked a pinpoint low-driven cross from distance, Zaniolo could latch onto it with a slide, and Skorupski blocked a botched clearance by Arthur Theate that was directed toward his own goal.