Napoli postpone Champions League qualification – Bologna prevail in a goal-Filled thriller

It seemed as though the final two rounds of the Serie A season would feature a battle for the remaining two UEFA Champions League spots, but there may now be three places up for grabs, as Napoli added even more drama to an already heated race with another costly slip-up.

The Blues had the chance to secure second place and book their return to the Champions League last night, but instead they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bologna at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and will now need to finish the job over the final two rounds.

Fortunately for Antonio Conte’s side, the schedule is favorable. They visit already relegated Pisa next weekend before hosting Udinese in the final round. Three points from those two matches will be enough, but this setback was far from ideal. Bologna had endured a poor second half of the season and had already fallen out of the race for European qualification, so few expected them to stun last season’s champions.

Yet the warning signs came early. Just nine minutes in, Federico Bernardeschi unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from an angle that caught Vanja Milinković-Savic completely flat-footed.

Napoli’s brightest performers were winter arrivals Giovane and Alisson Santos, but young goalkeeper Pesina denied both on several occasions. As Napoli pushed harder in search of an equalizer, they became increasingly vulnerable on the counterattack, and Bologna capitalized.

Following a quick transition, left-back Juan Miranda surged forward and drew a foul from Di Lorenzo inside the area. Riccardo Orsolini converted the resulting penalty to double the visitors’ lead. Napoli’s captain made amends deep into first-half stoppage time, tapping in from close range to cut the deficit to 2-1 before the break.

The hosts began the second half with greater intensity and quickly leveled the score through Alisson, who found the far corner of Pesina’s goal. A comeback seemed to be on the cards, but Conte’s side gradually lost momentum as the match wore on.

Bologna regained confidence in the closing stages, with long-range efforts from Rowe and Santiago Castro testing Napoli. Then, in stoppage time, the visitors snatched all three points. An English attacker reacted quickest after Milinković-Savic parried Miranda’s shot and acrobatically converted with a spectacular scissor-kick finish.

Napoli can still secure Champions League qualification with a win over Pisa in the next round, as they hold the head-to-head advantage over AS Roma. However, another stumble would leave them under enormous pressure heading into the final-day clash with Udinese — the same team that handed them a painful lesson earlier in the campaign.

The good news for Napoli is that everything remains in their own hands. Juventus still have difficult matches against Fiorentina and Torino, AC Milan travel to face Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa at the Marassi before hosting Cagliari, while Roma still have a city derby to navigate before taking on Verona in the final round.

One thing is certain: the race for the Champions League places in Italy is set for a thrilling finish.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 36

Friday

Torino - Sassuolo 2-1 (0-0)

/Simeone 66, Pedersen 70 - Thorstvedt 51/

Saturday

Cagliari - Udinese 0-2 (0-0)

/Buksa 56, Gueye 90+6/

Lazio - Inter 0-3 (0-2)

/Lautaro 6, Sucic 39, Mkhitaryan 76/

Lecce - Juventus 0-1 (0-1)

/Vlahovic 1/

Sunday

Verona - Como 0-1 (0-0)

/Douvikas 71/

Cremonese - Pisa 3-0 (1-0)

/Vardy 31, Bonazzoli 51, Okereke 86/

Fiorentina - Genoa 0-0

Parma - Roma 2-3 (0-1)

/Strefezza 47, Keita 87 - Mallen 22, 90+11 pen, Rensch 90+4/

Milan - Atalanta 2-3 (0-2)

/Pavlovic 88, Nkunku 90+3 pen - Ederson 7, Zappacosta 29, Raspadori 51/

Monday

Napoli - Bologna 2-3 (1-2)

/Di Lorenzo 45+2, Alisson Santos 48 - Bernardeschi 10, Orsolini 34 pen, Rowe 90+1/