Bologna-Fiorentina 1-0: Odgaard makes Italiano rejoice, the Apennine derby is red and blue

Bologna, 15 December 2024 – Bologna wins the Apennine derby, with Vincenzo Italiano who beats a slice of his past at the end of two weeks that have put the rossoblù and their coach face to face with their recent past. Odgaard decides who is ready to beat De Gea but overall it is an aggressive Bologna that finds in Dominguez a thorn in the side for the Viola and in Castro a finishing man.

The midfield with Freuler also did well tireless and Ferguson who responds present from the bench. In a Dall'Ara lashed by winter temperatures and muffled by fog to warm up the atmosphere in the pre-match are the fans, with chants and jeers from both sides that light up the atmosphere of this derby dell'Appennino even before the two teams. On the bench for Fiorentina in the meantime there is Raffaele Palladino, struck by mourning for the death of his mother, to replace him the deputy Stefano Citterio.

Italian continues to trust young Dominguez, who starts as a starter in the offensive trio supporting Castro, preferred as always in the championship to Dallinga. Fiorentina touches the ball first but the first minutes of the match see the game mainly stationary in midfield, with some inaccuracies on both sides. Viola tries to keep control of the game and Bologna responds instead in offside with the speed of its offensive interpreters.

The first whistle of the match came in the 7th minute, with Ndoye's counterattack that goes 40 meters with the ball at his feet and at the edge of the area he passes to Dominguez who tries to hit the target on first intention but his conclusion is too weak and central, everything easy for De Gea who blocks. Bologna he could have handled the ball better after having foiled a move on the edge of Fiorentina. In the 9th minute Pobega instead tries from distance, with the former Milan player doing it all by himself: he intercepts a disengagement from the Fiorentina defense and without thinking too much tries a conclusion from distance, the ball goes well out.

The match heats up, with the guests trying to respond immediately, with two actions by Gudmiunudsson who first tries to skip past Skorupski, also coming into contact with the rossoblù goalkeeper amid protests from the guests and again the Icelander a few minutes later runs away at speed to Pogeba who stops him with a foul on the edge of the area. Yellow card for the Bologna midfielder and free kick for Fiorentina, with Colpani who shoots badly against the wall.

With the higher pace the two teams expose themselves more, with the all-South American Castro-Dominguez axis trying to sting on the counterattack but the imprecision stops the hosts' hopes. In the 19th minute, a goal is rightly disallowed for Fiorentina, with a back-and-forth in midfield that ends up launching Kean who resists Beukema's return and beats Skorupski but the former Juve player started over the line, with the offside immediately signaled by the linesman.

Bologna is back in De Gea's area in the 37th minute, with Odgaard's personal action, who tries a shot from outside but the ball always ends up high on the goal defended by the Spanish goalkeeper. In the 43rd minute, the guests respond, with a nice one-on-one action between Kean, Gudmudsson and Cataldi, who is launched in depth, with the midfielder shooting hard, but Bologna's Polish goalkeeper opposes him and sends it to the corner with his fingertips. On the corner, the ball arrives at the far post with Kean who once again tests Skorupski with his header, the cleared ball remains in the six-yard box but the rebound doesn't reward Beltran and the rossoblù defense manages to clear it away.

In the only minute of injury time, Bologna comes close to scoring: nice ball recovered by Pogeba who resists a charge and tries to serve Holm but Dominguez arrives on the ball at speed, with the very young winger who approaches the edge of the area and passes to Odgaard ready to serve Ndoye in the center but his conclusion goes just wide. Comuzzo's interference is decisive and unbalances the Swiss. At the restart however it is the Swiss winger who, after a hard touch by Gosens, leaves the field, with Italiano opting for Ferguson. The move seems to pay off, with the Scot who after 15'' launches a header to Castro, the Argentine enters the area but hits the ball in a messy way and the ball touches the post remaining in the field, with De Gea beaten.

Bologna tries again, this time with Pobega who stops with his chest and shoots on the fly on a suggestion from Beukema. De Gea dives and blocks the conclusion, which is not violent enough anyway. In the 55th minute Freuler opens the game to Odgaard who tries again from distance, his conclusion is strong but it is once again the Fiorentina goalkeeper who responds present and blocks. Citterio tries to change something and replaces a visibly dropped Gudmundsson for Sottil.

But in the 59th minute Bologna took the lead, right with Odgaard: a full-field pass from Castro from the rossoblù midfield to Dominguez who believes in the ball going in depth and aims for the man, putting a low ball into the centre which Freuler pounces on and misplaces, passing it to Odgaard who beats De Gea with a flat pass. It's the 1-0 goal. Italiano's team would also have the chance to double their lead, with Dominguez setting up Castro, the Argentine with his back to the goal controls and frees a through ball from the outside for Holm who, all alone, fires high for a possible 2-0. The rossoblù push again and it is once again Odgaard who has another golden opportunity at his feet: Pobega tries to launch the number 21 who enters the area but the ball stretches and the conclusion in extension is weak and is easy prey for De Gea. In the 75th minute another change for Italiano, who changes Holm for Lykogiannis.

Fiorentina makes a comeback in the 78th minute, with a header from Richardson, too slow and central however, with Skorupski blocking the ball. Bologna responds immediately, with Ferguson trying to worry De Gea from outside the area, ready to respond with a punch. Italiano meanwhile makes a double substitution, with Posch and Iling-Junior for De Silvestri and Benjamin Dominguez who leaves the field to a general ovation from the Dall'Ara. We are moving towards the final moments of the match, with Italiano also throwing Dallinga into the fray for a Castro who gave his all. The 4 minutes of injury time granted by Fabbri also pass, with Bologna continuing to fight for every ball. At the final whistle Italiano runs away but his satisfaction is not hidden, with the roar of the Dall'Ara sealing a victory that, although narrow, means a lot for the team in a moment of growth that is consecrated with this success against Fiorentina who to date had lost only one match in the championship, last September against Atalanta. I rossoblù thus rise to 25 points in the standings and they face with a smile the next challenge against Torino, scheduled at the Olimpico on Saturday 21 December.