Serie A | Bologna 2-3 Verona: 10-man Rossoblu crumble late on

Hellas Verona left it late to claim all three points in an eventual 3-2 Serie A win against Bologna, who played the vast majority of the second half with 10 men after Tommaso Pobega’s dismissal. Benja Dominguez, Amin Sarr, Casper Tengstedt and Santiago Castro, at the wrong end, provided the goals.

Both coaches made just two alterations to their starting line-up ahead of kick-off, as Vincenzo Italiano welcomed goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski and attacking midfielder Giovanni Fabbian back into the Bologna XI.

Dominguez showed a great bit of footwork in the area to get the ball out from under his feet and into the bottom corner of the net in a congested penalty area after 20 minutes to hand Bologna a 1-0 lead.

Benjamin Dominguez celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Giovanni Fabbian during the Serie A match between Bologna and Verona at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on December 30, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

A Rossoblu error at the back was capitalised on by Tengstedt a quarter of an hour later. He was able to find Sarr, who made no mistake in front of Skorupski to draw Verona level.

The same combination of players delivered Verona’s second goal of the night. Sarr got a deft flick off his head to feed Tengstedt through on the edge of the area, before he dispatched past Skorpuski and into the bottom corner of the net for 2-1 with seconds remaining of the first half.

The action didn’t slow down after the re-start, as Tommaso Pobega was given his marching orders six minutes into the second half for an off-the-ball elbow on Ondrej Duda.

Tommaso Pobega reacts during the Serie A match between Bologna and Verona at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on December 30, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Despite being reduced to 10 men, it would be Bologna who struck next, again through Dominguez. Jens Odgaard struck the post from a free-kick from 25 yards out, and the young Argentine was in the right position to slam home the rebound with his first touch for 2-2.

Verona, who had the numerical advantage for the best part of 40 minutes, finally capitalised with two minutes of regular time remaining. Duda’s free-kick delivery caused Bologna trouble at the back post, Juan Miranda couldn’t get it clear, and then it took an unfortunate touch of Santiago Castro before bouncing in for an own goal.

Monday night’s result leaves Bologna in seventh place in the Serie A standings, while Verona have moved four points clear of the regelation zone, and now find themselves in 16th place in the league table.

Dominguez (B) 20′, 58′, Sarr (V) 38′, Tengstedt (V) 45+2′, Castro (OG) 88′.

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