Sansone ruins Pioli’s plans: Bologna stops Milan, forcing them to a second consecutive draw in the league, confirming themselves among the teams in the best form at the moment. Pobega straightens a match that started badly, but the Rossoneri can’t overtake even with the grafts of the heavy calibers and thus offer Inter the chance of overtaking in fourth place. The indiscretions of the eve at Milan’s home are confirmed as well fears: Pioli upsets the starting eleven by confirming Maignan alone among the protagonists of the Champions League victory with Napoli. The return match from inside or outside is too important. But the match in Bologna is also too important in terms of the standings, with a fourth place and a qualification for the next Champions League which is anything but certain.
First half
The upheaval shows the first crack after just 32 seconds: Barrow breaks on the left, Schouten opens on the right, where Aebischer wins a tackle and favors the insertion of Posch: low cross from the back and Sansone anticipates Kalulu under measure for Bologna’s advantage, which confirms itself as one of the teams with the most ball in Serie A. Motta has to deal with the emergency: out the injured Arnautovic, Cambiaso and Soriano as well as the suspended Orsolini. And so the rossoblù coach confirms the team that beat Atalanta with only one exception: Dominguez’s return to the starting lineup in the midfield in place of Moro. The start was promising, but Milan then took matters into their own hands, looking deep into Origi and Rebic with long balls from defense and midfield. Bologna stretches and loses the thread of the game, but above all on the second balls the Rossoneri always come first, who make their physique and kilos count. Thus the chances arrive for Rebic and Kalulu, as well as a free-kick from the edge for Florenzi: Skorupski saves himself, but nothing can in the 40th minute on Pobega’s shot from the edge, who kisses the post and slips into the net, while Motta’s team he has only one chance with Aebischer, who shoots high on the counterattack opened by Ferguson and led by Barrow: it’s equal at the interval.
Second half
In the second half Motta changes: he raises Dominguez on the trocar to man Vranckx and inserts Zirkzee for Sansone and the match is rebalanced. Then Pioli also changes, putting the heavy gauges Leao and Diaz, as well as Calabria and Messias and in the last 20 minutes Milan get back to playing the game, looking for victory. Two very chances between 28′ and 29′, with Messias triggering Rebic in the small area, who however sends out in splits, and with a shot by Pobega deflected for a corner by Lykogiannis. Six from the end, on the Leao-Diaz axis, the Devil wastes another opportunity on the restart, with the Spaniard shooting high. But Bologna also has a couple of dangerous restarts, which however it throws away in the finishing phase. The teams lengthen, but the decisive hits are missing. It ends 1-1.