Arnautovic dispels fear and crisis. The Austrian finds the goal he was missing right from the first leg against Spezia, dated 28 November and Bologna the home victory expected from 1 December, to put an end to a negative streak made up of 7 ko, a draw and a defeat in the last 8 games. In front there is a Spezia in a positive streak (4 victories in the last 7 games). That the visiting team is healthy is shown by Verde, who calls Skorupski to the big intervention after just 3 minutes. Arnautovic responds with the crossbar caught at the invitation of Orsolini, after a lost ball by Reca, who at 11 ‘shows how scared Bologna is by the momentaccio: forgotten on the wing, the left-handed side has time to take aim and center the cross to for Manaj, which dominates Theate and marks the host advantage.
Bologna needed twenty minutes to reorganize, but from the half hour the rossoblù forcing rises, close to scoring with Arnautovic, primed by Barrow. Mihajlovic’s team collects corners (8 in the first half), but also chances. And at 40 ‘it is always Barrow who finds the cut in the area by Arnautovic, who burns the defenders and beats Provedel with a left-handed, who then has to put his own on Orsolini and is pardoned by Bonifazi in full recovery, with a high header always on a cross from an inspired Barrow. Bologna also started strong in the second half, with Orsolini close to scoring in the 8th and 16th minutes and Arnautovic calling Provedel to save a minute later. But the La Spezia wall resists and then Mihajlovic changes everything, moving to 4-2-3-1 with the insertions of Vignato and Sansone.
La Spezia comes close to the coup with Agudelo, who steals the ball from Soriano in midfield and loses on the most beautiful, after an all-out action, but the winning move is that of Sinisa: at 39 ‘of the second half, Sansone finds the assist at the far post for Arnautovic, who with his head crushes the net: it is the match goal, Bologna starts again. From Arnautovic and the trident, with whom he finds two goals in a single game, after having scored as many in the previous five.