Salernitana claimed another crucial point for the relegation zone battle on Saturday, drawing against Bologna after being down 1-0 in the first half, with Marko Arnautovic taking the lead for the Felsinei.
In the second half, Salernitana’s coach Davide Nicola made the right substitutions, bringing in Nadir Zortea who scored just a few seconds after entering
the pitch.
Arnautovic Puts Bologna in Front, VAR Denies Salernitana a Penalty
It was a wild first half at the Arechi Stadium in Salerno, with Bologna pressing high and being dangerous from the start, with Aaron Hickey, Musa Barrow and Arnautovic combining well and creating multiple scoring chances.
The first clear occasion was for Salernitana, however. On the 30-minute mark, a through ball from Franck Ribery to Simone Verdi led to a foul from Bologna’s winger Riccardo Orsolini. Referee Giovanni Ayroldi initially awarded a penalty to the Campania-sided team but changed his decision after a consultation with the VAR.
Ten minutes later, a sweet cross from Scottish left back Hickey triggered Arnautovic’s header that beat Maurizio Sepe and put Bologna in front.
Zortea Equalizes as Bologna Is Denied Twice by the Crossbar
In the second half, Salernitana reacted immediately, with Bosnian striker Milan Djuric almost coming close to find the back of the net and only denied by Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski’s incredible save.
Both teams created many chances but without being really dangerous. With twenty minutes left on the clock, coach Nicola made a triple-substitution: Ribery, Verdi and Grigoris Kastanos were replaced by Diego Perotti, Lys Mousset and Zortea.
These two last subs changed the fate of the match: Mousset made a clinical pass to Atalanta’s loanee Nadir Zortea, who beat Skorupski with a sharp daisy-cutter from 20 meters to equalize.
Bologna’ coach Sinisa Mihajlovic replied by bringing in Emmanuel Vignato and Nicola Sansone. The latter gave Salernitana quite a scare as he hit the crossbar twice in the final minutes.
In the end, it was a bittersweet point for Salernitana. Nicola made the right changes as the Granata played an intensive and aggressive football throughout the match, but it wasn’t enough to claim all three points on offer. For the Felsinei, on the other hand, the result was just another meaningless point in an anonymous Serie A campaign.
What’s Next for Salernitana and Bologna
Salernitana now face Inter next week, with the Nerazzurri desperate to win the game for the Scudetto race. The Granata still have two games in hand due to some postponements for Covid cases.
Bologna will face Torino in their next league round. The Rossoblu are in a sort of mid-table limbo, unable to battle for European competition spots and not having to worry about the fight for the relegation zone.
MATCH SCORECARD
February 26, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 27
SALERNITANA – BOLOGNA 1-1
SCORERS: 43′ Arnautovic (B), 72′ Zortea (S)
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SALERNITANA (4-2-3-1): Sepe; Mazzocchi, Fazio, Dragusin, Ranieri L (46′ Gagliolo), Coulibaly, Ederson (88′ Bohinen); Verdi (71′ Mousset), Kastanos (71′ Zortea), Ribery (71′ Perotti); Djuric. (Belec, Veseli, Gyomber, Obi, Jaroszynski, Di Tacchio, Mikael) Coach: Nicola |
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BOLOGNA (3-4-3): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Schouten (87′ Bonifazi), Soriano (73′ Vignato), Hickey; Orsolini (63′ Svanberg), Arnautovic, Barrow (73′ Sansone) (Bardi, Binks, Kasius, Mbaye, Dijks, Viola, Aebischer, Falcinelli) Coach: Mihajlovic |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Ranieri (S), Soriano (B), Coulibaly (S), Arnautovic (B), De Silvestri (B), Nicola (S)