Bologna’s coach Vincenzo Italiano celebrates winning the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bologna FC and Borussia Dortmund at Renato Dall’Ara stadium in Bologna, Italy, 21 January 2025. EPA-EFE/ELISABETTA BARACCHI
Bologna picked up their first ever Champions League victory on Tuesday night, coming from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Dall’Ara, which has turned out to be Nuri Sahin’s final game in charge of the Bundesliga giants.
The Rossoblu fell behind to a 15th minute Serhou Guirassy penalty, but hit back with two goals within the space of a minute from Thijs Dallinga and Samuel Iling-Junior in the second half to cap off an historic evening in Emilia-Romagna.
Before this season, Bologna had never previously qualified for the final Champions League tournament. They had once featured in the preliminary rounds of the European Cup all the way back in 1964-65.
Vincenzo Italiano has had to be patient in his hunt for Bologna’s first Champions League victory, having lost to Liverpool, Aston Villa, Monaco and Lille this season, as well as draws with Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica.
-Bologna victory leads to Sahin sacking
Following on from Bologna’s victory over Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga side have confirmed that head coach Sahin has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
The former Dortmund and Turkey midfielder was only appointed at the beginning of the season as a replacement for Edin Terzic, but has now left with the team in 10th place in the Bundesliga and 13th in the Champions League standings, with play-offs still not mathematically secured with one league phase match to go.
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