Bologna: two roads to the Champions League, the match against Milan is decisive

There is a road at the end of the tunnel (quote by Giovanni Sartori) and it still leads to the Champions League. Actually: there are two roads. The first one necessarily passes through the victory on Friday night at the home of a Milan in a probable reduced version and in any case, as is official since yesterday, without the disqualified Leao. The second one instead slips into the eye of the needle of the direct confrontations and separate ranking, factors that would give an advantage to the Red Blue in case of a sprint finish after the last 270 minutes of the championship.

It goes without saying that these are far from easy roads to travel, if only because they all run ahead while the Bologna, in terms of results, has slowed down significantly in the last month. In the last 5 days of the championship, the rossoblù have collected one victory (with Inter), one defeat (with Atalanta) and 3 draws (Napoli, Udinese and Juve). The total is 6 points. Very meager loot if you consider that in the same segment all the rivals have gained ground: Roma and Lazio have collected 11 points, Fiorentina 8. And so fourth place has been downgraded to seventh and now it's time to climb back up to the lost top. How? First of all by going to win on Friday night at the Meazza on the pitch of Milan in what will be the appetizer of the Coppa Italia final on May 14th.

Easier said than done, because the Milan Conceiçao, who has just won three straight games, will not be able to give away the three points at home without a fight. Yet it will almost certainly be a 'half-strength' Diavolo. Not only because it is in the nature of things that the Portuguese coach, after fielding his starters on Monday night at the Ferraris in the comeback victory against Genoa (2-1), will make a large rotation on Friday, but also because the scarecrow Leao will certainly be left in the pits, who was on a warning and received a warning so gratuitous that it very much resembles a shortcut to a rest day.

Winning at the Meazza would put pressure on their rivals in a round that will see Lazio host Juve and Roma play at Atalanta. And in the event of a final wild pile, Bologna It is one of the best placed teams among direct confrontations and hypothetical separate ranking. In the head-to-head tally, the rossoblù are victorious against Roma and Lazio and defeated by Juve due to the general goal difference (+20 for the bianconeri, +15 for the rossoblù). The good news is that in the event of a tie with Juve, Roma and Lazio, Italiano's team would win. The potential separate standings at the moment say: Bologna 9 points, Juve and Roma 7, Lazio 4. This is why everything has become more complicated but nothing is lost. Aware of the fact that if the consolation prize were the Europa League, which could also be achieved by winning the Coppa Italia, the final celebrations would be obligatory.