Bologna Stun AC Milan 4-2 at San Siro as Cissè Brace Sets Up Famous Away Win
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
Bologna came to San Siro and did what very few sides do. They controlled the game, they competed for every ball, and they punished a Milan side that had no answer for the first hour. The final score was 4-2 to the visitors. Write it down.
The Game Was Gone Before Milan Woke Up
Listen, this was not a tight match that swung on one decision. Bologna had 66 per cent possession, completed 591 passes to Milan's 270, and generated 124 attacks to Milan's 80. Those are not the numbers of a team that scraped a result. That is a team that dominated from first whistle to last.
Alphadjo Cissè put Bologna in front inside 14 minutes with a right-foot finish, and then added a second on 27 minutes with his left foot. Two goals, two different feet, and neither was a tap-in. The thing is, Milan's defence handed him the first goal on a plate and the second was assisted by Fikayo Tomori, whose name appears in the data for all the wrong reasons. You cannot gift a striker that kind of invitation and expect to win a football match. Unacceptable standards at the back.
Samuel Mbangula pulled one back for Milan at eight minutes, so they were never completely out of it in the first half. But the attitude of the home side between the goals was the problem. Bologna were sharper, quicker to the ball, and more clinical when it mattered.
The Hour That Killed Milan
At half-time, with Milan trailing 2-1, there was still a match to be played. Then minute 60 arrived. Davide Bartesaghi put the ball into his own net to make it 3-1. That was the moment. Three goals conceded by your own players, one an own goal, and your team is staring down the barrel at home.
Mbangula made it 3-2 on 62 minutes and you could sense Milan might have a go. But Bologna were not rattled. They had the desire and the composure to see the game out. Cissè's performance in particular deserves credit. Two goals from open play, both taken with conviction. That is what accountability to your team looks like when you get your chance.
The fourth goal came from Mbangula again on 86 minutes, completing his hat-trick. But let us be honest about what that scoreline represents. Milan scored three times in a game they lost 4-2. Three of their goals came from one player. Take Mbangula away and this is an embarrassing afternoon. The hat-trick flatters the home side and everyone in that stadium knows it.
Milan's Squad Problems Made It Worse
You have to acknowledge the context. AC Milan went into this match with multiple players unavailable. The data shows one player suspended and several others out injured, including two with expected return dates as late as February 2027. That is a depleted squad by any measure.
But absences do not explain the defensive basics that went missing. Milan committed 16 fouls and picked up two yellow cards. Tommaso Pobega was booked for a foul on 76 minutes and Torbjørn Heggem, who had only just come on as a substitute, was booked on 84 minutes. That is a lack of discipline and it is a lack of control. When your team is already losing, you cannot afford to give the opposition free kicks in dangerous areas. That is basics, and Milan did not execute them.
The five substitutions Milan made between the 58th and 79th minutes tell their own story. They were chasing the game, throwing bodies on, hoping something would change. It did not change because the problem was not personnel. The problem was that Bologna were the better team.
Bologna Deserve Their Credit
The thing is, this was not a smash-and-grab from Bologna. They had 36 dangerous attacks to Milan's 25. They won more duels. They were more accurate with their crossing, landing five of fourteen crosses compared to Milan's two from seven. They worked the channels, they moved the ball quickly, and they forced Milan into desperate defending all afternoon.
Their recent form coming into this match had been inconsistent, with two wins and two losses from five Serie A matches in their rolling sample. Nobody would have predicted a performance of this quality away at Milan. That makes it even more impressive. When a team raises its standards on a big occasion, that tells you something about the character in that dressing room.
Bologna only made four substitutions compared to Milan's five. They did not need to panic. They managed the game. Luka Modrić came on at half-time and helped them control the second period. That composure under pressure is what separates sides that compete from sides that just turn up.
What Milan Must Fix
Conceding four goals at home is unacceptable for a club of Milan's standing. It does not matter how many players are out injured. You set your standards before the first whistle and you hold them for ninety minutes. Milan did not do that today.
Their defensive shape was exposed repeatedly. Bologna's attacking movements found space that should not have been there. The own goal from Bartesaghi summed up a chaotic afternoon at the back. Players were in the wrong positions, covering the wrong runners, and paying the price for it.
Going into this match, Milan had won three of their last five Serie A fixtures without losing one. A draw with Sassuolo and a draw with Lazio were the only blots on their recent record. This was a step back. A big one. And the squad injuries give some context, but they do not give absolution. Standards are standards, end of.
Bologna travel back with a famous win. Milan sit with questions about their defensive accountability and a result that will sting. The only player who can hold his head up in red and black today is Mbangula, and even his hat-trick came in a losing cause.
