On 10 December, one of the matches of the 15th round of the Italian Football Championship took place. Salernitana (Italy) and Bologna (Italy) met.
Italian Championship, 15th round
Salernitana (Italy) - Bologna (Italy) - 1:2 (0:2)
Goals: Simy (75) - Joshua Zirkzi (9), Joshua Zirkzi (20)
Warnings: Coulibaly (26), L. Tchaouna (36), Pasquale Mazzocchi (39), B. Dia (42), Joshua Zirkzi (44), Bradaric (48), Norbert Diembert (54), K. Urbanski (85), B. Dia (42), Joshua Zirkzi (44), Bradaric (48), Norbert Diembert (54), K. Urbanski (85), Kastanos (89), Skorupski (90+6)
In a long-awaited Serie A match, Salernitana faced Bologna at the Stadio Arechi. From the start of the match, Bologna took control of the game, putting pressure on the Salernitana defence. In the 9th minute, Bologna's J. Zirksee scored, giving his team an early lead. Bologna continued to dominate and in the 20th minute Zirksee scored again, increasing the lead to 2-0. "Salernitana" struggled to find their rhythm, committing several fouls and receiving a yellow card in the 26th minute when L. Coulibaly was sent off. Salernitana made their first substitution in the 35th minute, replacing M. Lovato with L. Chauna in an attempt to change the game. However, they failed to break through the solid Bologna defence. The first half was marked by several yellow cards: Salernitana players B. Dia, P. Mazzocchi, L. Chauna and D. Bradaric were warned, as well as Bologna player J. Zirksee. Zirksee. At the start of the second half, Salernitana made a second substitution, replacing P. Mazzocchi for F. Daniliuk in the 46th minute. However, the number of yellow cards continued to grow, with D. Bradaric and N. Diomber receiving penalties in the 48th and 54th minutes respectively. In the 64th minute, Salernitana made two more substitutions, replacing K. Ikwuemesi and M. Legowski with Simi and G. Maggiore.
These changes seemed to breathe life into Salernitana's attack and in the 75th minute Simi scored, giving his team hope. Bologna responded with their own substitutions, replacing J. Zirksee for S. van Hooijdonk, and D. Ndoye for K. Urbanski in the 77th minute. Salernitana also made their last substitution in the 81st minute, bringing on A. Candreva instead of G. Castanos. Tensions mounted towards the end of the match when Bologna's C. Urbanski was sent off in the 85th minute and Salernitana's G. Castanos in the 89th minute. However, the drama escalated in the final minutes of the match when Salernitana's F. Fazio received a red card in the 90th minute. Bologna's L. Skorupski received a yellow card in the same minute. Despite Salernitana's late surge, Bologna held their advantage and eventually won the match 2-1. The match was action packed, from goals to yellow and red cards, and the fans were not bored until the final whistle. Although Salernitana will be disappointed with the result, they can take solace in a second half performance that showed promise for future matches. Bologna will be pleased with their win, having shown resilience and a strong defence. Both teams will now focus on the upcoming matches to continue their Serie A campaigns.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Atalanta - Salernitana, Bologna - Roma.
| Salernitana | Bologna | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kicks to the goal | 5 |
| 8 | Kicks | 10 |
| 4 | Blocked shots | 2 |
| 5 | Penalty kicks | 7 |
| 3 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 3 |
| 19 | Offences | 14 |
| 5 | Corners | 1 |
| 0 | Offsides | 2 |
| 34% | Ball possession | 66% |
| 7 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 1 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 1 |
| 332 | Total assists | 678 |
| 265 | Accurate assists | 608 |
| 80% | Transmission accuracy | 90% |