Bologna ends 51-year wait for a major trophy by beating AC Milan to win Italian Cup
ROME (AP) — Bologna ended a 51-year wait for a major trophy when it beat AC Milan 1-0 to win the Italian Cup on Wednesday.
Dan Ndoye returned from injury to score the only goal and help Bologna to its first Italian Cup since 1974. The club, which is owned by Canadian Joey Saputo, has only won two second-division titles in between.
It was also coach Vincenzo Italiano's first win in a final, having lost back-to-back Europa Conference League finals while in charge of Fiorentina and finishing runner-up in the 2023 Italian Cup.
The result secured Bologna a spot in next season's Europa League and left Milan with the very real likelihood of missing out on European competition.
It could spell the end of Sérgio Conceição's short stint in charge of the Rossoneri, with Milan eighth in Serie A after a disappointing season.
Both teams came to Rome looking to end an Italian Cup drought, as Milan last lifted the trophy 22 years ago — losing two finals in the intervening years.
The match was played at a high tempo from the start and both goalkeepers were called into making impressive saves in the opening 10 minutes.
Tension threatened to boil over toward the end of the first half and Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson was left bloodied with what looked like a broken nose after a sliding tackle on Rafael Leao, who caught him on the face with his leg as he was upended.
Bologna broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half. Riccardo Orsolini was tackled by Theo Hernandez in the area but the ball fell to Ndoye, who carved out some space before curling into the right side of the net.
The 24-year-old Switzerland international had missed Bologna's previous three matches with a thigh injury.
Milan had fought back from a goal down to beat Bologna 3-1 in the Italian league on Friday, but there was to be no such comeback in Rome.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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