AC MILAN v BOLOGNA: OPPONENT REVIEW

Lights are on at the San Siro for the Saturday night match of Matchday 22 of the Serie A, with AC Milan and Bologna set for a match worth watching. The Bolognese will attempt to storm the Meazza, despite having won only one of the last 28 clashes against AC Milan in the Serie A (7D, 20L): a 1-0 victory away on 6 January 2016, thanks to a goal from Giaccherini. Since then, the Rossoneri have remained unbeaten for sixteen consecutive matches against Bologna in the top flight (13W, 3D). In addition to the recent precedents not favoring Thiago Motta's team, their recent performance is also discouraging: Bologna comes from earning only one point in the last three Serie A outings, after having a run of three consecutive league victories.

However, the last time the Emilian team suffered two consecutive defeats in the competition dates back to the first two matches of the calendar year 2023 (against Roma and Atalanta). Despite gaining only one point in the last three league games, this is the best season for the Rossoblù in terms of points after 20 matches in a single Serie A season (32 points) in the era of three points. Moreover, no team has drawn more away games than Bologna in this season: six (1W, 3D), on par with Udinese. Hence, they are rarely defeated away from home.

HIGH BALL POSSESSION, BUILD UP ACTIONS ARE A MUST FOR THE ROSSOBLÙ                                                       Among the most distinctive traits of Bologna's game is persistent ball possession, an integral part of Thiago Motta's tactical principles. Unsurprisingly, the Rossoblù rank third in this league for average ball possession percentage (57.1%), behind only Napoli with 59.5% and Fiorentina with 58.2%. This is supported by an 86.1% pass completion rate (the fourth-highest percentage in the current league). The effectiveness of Bologna's "playmakers" are also evident in the 303 sequences of at least ten consecutive passes this season (only three other teams have recorded at least 300 such sequences). They have reached the opponent's penalty area 49 times through these played actions (an average of once every six "maneuvered" actions).

In terms of passing demanded by their coach, Bologna and Milan are very similar (the Rossoneri are just after the Rossoblù in possession and in actions of at least ten consecutive passes rankings), along with being characterized by the accuracy of their shooters. Despite attempting only 230 shots (only four teams have performed worse so far in Serie A), they have the second-highest percentage of shots on target (49.4%), surpassed only by Milan itself (52.4%).

ZIRKZEE AND FERGUSON SHARP, CALAFIORI A TENACIOUS DEFENDER                                                                               If Bologna make ball possession one of their best weapons, it is mainly due to the skill of its players with the ball at their feet. Among them, Joshua Zirkzee stands out, one of the players in which Bologna's game primarily relies on, as confirmed by the 34 successful lay-offs in Serie A, second only to Marcus Thuram (36) among the attackers in the competition. The 2001-born player is one of the revelations of this season, with already seven goals to his name (five more than the previous season), including five away goals. Considering all competitions, his overall tally is eight goals and four assists in this season, including two winning passes at San Siro, in the Coppa Italia, against Inter, in what remains the last official match where the Dutchman contributed to at least one goal.

Behind Zirkzee, Lewis Ferguson will act, a true pillar of the Rossoblù team, being the player with the most minutes played in Serie A (1705). The Scotsman is justifying the good shown in past seasons, with four goals and two assists in the league, just one goal participation away from those recorded in the entire last Serie A season (seven goals). In addition to having reliable attacking players, Bologna also rely on a solid defense, the third least beaten in the league (jointly with Torino). In this regard, significant credit goes to Riccardo Calafiori, who arrived at Bologna as a left-back from Roma's youth academy and has proved to be an excellent central defender for the Rossoblù. The 2002-born player is the defender who recovers the most possessions per game, among those with at least fifteen matches played in Serie A (6.9); moreover, he is fourth for the number of interceptions in the current league, among fellow defenders: 32, behind only Buongiorno (42), Scalvini (39), and Djimsiti (35).

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