Hellas Verona snatched a dramatic late victory in an enthralling 3-2 Serie A clash against Bologna, who were forced to play nearly the entire second half with 10 men following Tommaso Pobega’s red card. The game featured an array of goals from Benja Dominguez, Amin Sarr, Casper Tengstedt, and an unfortunate own goal by Santiago Castro, which ultimately sealed Bologna’s fate.
Both managers made minimal changes to their lineups for the match. Vincenzo Italiano reinstated goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski and midfielder Giovanni Fabbian to the Bologna starting XI, while Verona looked to build on their recent improved performances.
The visitors took an early lead in the 20th minute when Benja Dominguez demonstrated superb skill in a crowded penalty area, maneuvering the ball out from under his feet before slotting it into the bottom corner. Bologna’s advantage, however, was short-lived. A defensive lapse allowed Verona to respond 15 minutes later, as Casper Tengstedt capitalized on an error and set up Amin Sarr, who calmly beat Skorupski to level the score.
The Tengstedt-Sarr duo struck again just before halftime to give Verona the lead. Sarr’s deft header found Tengstedt in space at the edge of the area, and the Danish forward drilled a low shot into the bottom corner, making it 2-1 as the teams headed into the break.
The second half began with high drama as Tommaso Pobega was shown a straight red card just six minutes in for an off-the-ball elbow on Ondrej Duda. Despite being a man down, Bologna showed resilience and found an equalizer through Dominguez once more. Jens Odgaard’s free kick struck the post, and Dominguez pounced on the rebound with a clinical first-time finish to make it 2-2.
With Bologna down to 10 men and Verona pressing hard, the hosts finally made their numerical advantage count in the dying moments. A dangerous free-kick delivery from Duda caused chaos in the Bologna box. Juan Miranda failed to clear the ball, which deflected off Santiago Castro and into the net for an own goal, sealing Verona’s 3-2 victory.
The result pushed Verona up to 16th in the Serie A standings, moving them four points clear of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Bologna remain in seventh place, their hopes of climbing higher dampened by a night of misfortune.
