Juventus Triumph Over Bologna in Five-Goal Extravaganza

Both Bologna and Juventus entered the Serie A final day fixture with plenty to play for. Provided Verona lost at Napoli, the hosts could secure a top-half finish, while Juventus had the all-important Champions League qualification on the line.

In the end, it was an easy victory for the Old Lady who coasted past their rivals with a 1-4 scoreline to boast of and even took the luxury of leaving new Serie A capocannoniere Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

There were three goals in the first half, that all but guaranteed that Juventus would squeeze past the challenge and secure top-four. The Old Lady’s first-half performance was one to write ballads about as they mastered their own fate.

They opened the scoring through the creativity of Dejan Kulusevski. The Swedish attacker found Adrien Rabiot, who did everything right but was denied by the goalkeeper. The parried shot hit the post and found Federico Chiesa in dangerous territory. Chiesa kept his nerves about him, rifling the ball into the middle of the net to give Juventus the advantage.

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? @MedelPitbull returns to the starting XI! ?#BolognaJuventus #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/sfkpJAas16

— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) May 23, 2021

Bologna were jolted by the early goal and tried to circumvent the impending result by taking the game to the visitors. However, all their efforts came to nought by the half-hour mark as Juventus looked to extend their 19-match unbeaten run against the Rossoblu.

The protagonist changed for this effort, Paulo Dybala weaving his magic to find Alvaro Morata in the final third. The Spaniard had an easy task on his hands as he calmly headed into the net from close range to double Juventus’ advantage.

In the final minutes of the first period, Musa Barrow came close for Bologna but his curler from the edge of the box was inches wide of the left post. The Gambian’s effort proved to be a false dawn as Andrea Pirlo’s charges ensured their efforts were not going to be undone by the loss of concentration.

Juventus hit their rivals in the last minute of regulation time to put the effort beyond any doubt. In a repeat of the first goal’s design, Kulusevski set free Rabiot in the final third. The domineering French midfielder did not make the same mistake again, finishing into the bottom left corner to make it 0-3.

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Sinisa Mihajlovic must have had a choice selection of words for his Bologna players in his half-time talk. The talk paid dividends in the first minute after stoppage. Mattias Svanberg cut open the Old Lady line and found Rodrigo Palacio. The Argentine believed he had scored but the linesman had his flag up. Palacio disagreed but the goal was disallowed.

The thoughts of an unlikely comeback must have been trashed by the most ardent of Bologna supporters in the next minute. Wojciech Szczesny sent Alvaro Morata in a one-on-one situation with the keeper. The Spaniard sent a low drive past Lukasz Skorupski to make it 0-4. There was a VAR check on the goal but not to Juventus’ deterrent. Bologna found it the hard way about what the phrase means when it rains, it pours.

The Rossoblu continued to search for the elusive goal whose only purpose was consolatory as the minutes passed by. It came in the 85th minute as Palacio unselfishly passed to Riccardo Orsolini despite being in a good shooting position. Orsolini did not disappoint with the opportunity, beating Szczesny with an accurate shot towards the left post.

The scoreboard read 1-4 in favor of the Old Lady, who never seemed to need Cristiano Ronaldo to secure the result. For the first time in a decade, Juventus are not the champions as they finish thirteen points adrift of pole position. Despite the Champions League qualification, Andrea Pirlo and company have plenty to tinker about as they look to rebuild the squad for a prosperous tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Sinisa Mihajlovic returns to the drawing board to iron out Bologna’s issues. They had everything in control and had impressed until the end. Nothing planned out as Mihajlovic had hoped as Bologna ended the campaign winless in the last seven fixtures. They finish in twelfth, Genoa leapfrogging them with a win over Cagliari.

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MATCH REPORT

May 23, 2021 – Serie A 2020-21 Round 38
BOLOGNA-JUVENTUS 1-4

SCORERS: 6′ Chiesa (J), 29′ Morata (J), 45′ Rabiot (J), 47′ Morata (J), 85′ Orsolini (B)

REFEREE: Mr. Valeri from Rome
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Medel (B), Morata, McKennie (J); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 1′