Italiano hails ‘special’ Bologna comeback victory over Milan | OneFootball

Vincenzo Italiano praises his Bologna side for their comeback victory over Milan to fly into sixth place. ‘We saw the character of these players once more. It had the intensity of the Champions League.’

This was a head-to-head for position, because both teams went into the rescheduled Week 9 fixture on 41 points.

It had originally been scheduled for October 2024, but had to be postponed due to flood warnings in the area, since when Milan changed coach and much of the squad too.

Rafael Leao had put the Rossoneri in front just before half-time, but Santiago Castro from close range after a controversial handball argument and Dan Ndoye turned it around.

“I saw another fantastic reaction from the team to going behind in a game where we were in my view playing well against one of the quickest forwards who are dangerous on the counter-attack,” Italiano told DAZN.

“However, the way the lads keep their heads, do not give up and manage to turn things around are allowing us to win matches like this. Clearly, going a goal down against Milan means any slight distraction could be devastating, but we saw the character of these players once more.

“With these three points, our position in the table becomes truly impressive.”

Italiano overseeing a great Bologna campaign

BOLOGNA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 27: Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Bologna and AC Milan at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on February 27, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Bologna are now in sixth place in Serie A and will face Empoli in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, so the campaign is going well, even after the Champions League elimination in the opening phase.

“Our next match is on Sunday, so imagine how much time we’ve got to recover and prepare. When I saw Castro and Dominguez were losing intensity, it was right to bring on fresh legs. Odgaard, Cambiaghi and Dallinga gave us that extra boost we were lacking in the final 20 minutes,” continued Italiano.

“When the substitutes come on with this attitude, it benefits the whole squad and makes a real difference. The enthusiasm we have at home is even more powerful and pushes us forward.”

This was a squad built to compete in the Champions League and Italiano already showed at Fiorentina in recent years that he knows how to rotate in multiple tournaments.

“I told the players before kick-off that this would be played with the tempo, intensity and spirit of the Champions League. We needed to challenge ourselves on their level. I am happy we’re getting players like Odgaard and Ferguson back to full fitness, while Orsolini only recently returned and is not at 100 per cent. When we have so many options, we can rotate and have a starting XI to put in a great performance.”

Bologna had not beaten Milan here in Serie A since March 2002, showing the remarkable nature of this result.

“We had seen Frese and Cruz scored the goals, they often talk about that game here in Bologna. It was 23 years ago and Milan are still a very talented squad, so the comeback to beat them is really special,” smiled Italiano.