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AC Milan piled more misery on Bologna at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara on Tuesday night, as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.
The bulk of the work was done in an impressive first half by Milan, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek fired in the first goal from Adrien Rabiot’s cut-back deep inside the box, and then Christopher Nkunku buried a penalty that his run in behind had earned.
Rabiot turned from provider to scorer early in the second half as he slotted home after a rogue throw-in from Juan Miranda, and the Rossoneri even missed other chances to perhaps make it a real humiliation.
The win means that the unbeaten run stretched to 22 games in Serie A, while Milan move back to five points behind Inter, but perhaps crucially have opened up a seven-point gap to Roma who are in fifth place.
Massimiliano Allegri elected to make four changes to the starting line-up from the team that drew with Roma last Sunday. Strahinja Pavlovic came back into the defence, while Zachary Athekame got the nod over the injured Alexis Saelemaekers, Youssouf Fofana reclaimed his position in midfield, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek started alongside Christopher Nkunku up front.
Bologna started the game on the front foot, and twice in quick succession they played low balls into the box that caused a bit of panic, though ultimately were cleared. The latter produced a succession of corners, one of which was met firmly by the head of Heggem but was sent over the crossbar.
Inside the eighth minute, Milan cut Bologna open for the first time and had a brilliant chance to take the lead. Some nice play around the halfway line saw Nkunku play Loftus-Cheek through on goal, yet the midfielder – after bursting through to the edge of the 18-yard-box – committed neither to shooting nor going round the goalkeeper, and Ravaglia claimed it.
Things became a little bit fractious between the two sides, especially in the midfield areas as Jonathan Rowe took a tumble, then Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric were both taken out by poorly-timed challenges. The teams then traded headers: Odgaard rose to meet Orsolini’s free-kick but it was into the arms of Maignan, then Fofana glanced Athekame’s cross just wide.
In the 20th minute, Milan got the first goal in a game where the volume of chances suggested it was coming. Excellent work from Fofana in a central area saw him get the ball to Athekame on the right at the second attempt. His cross was met by Nkunku’s header that Ravaglia scrambled away, but Rabiot laid the rebound ricochet on a plate for Loftus-Cheek to fire in first time.
Loftussssss pic.twitter.com/xL7tW8iiH6
— Fabio (@FabioCovili) February 3, 2026
A quarter of an hour after the opening goal, Milan were handed the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot. Loftus-Cheek was again involved with a nice turn to spring a break on the edge of the box, and he then slid through Nkunku, who did well to drag the ball around the corner and buy the contact. The Frenchman took the spot kick and fired in emphatically to keep his good run going.
Nkunku pic.twitter.com/PJ8BLNJb5t
— Fabio (@FabioCovili) February 3, 2026
Less than two minutes after the restart, Milan got their third goal of the night as Rabiot got his name on the scoresheet. A strangely wild throw-in from Juan Miranda on Bologna’s left side drifted into midfield and was picked up by the French midfielder, who had a clear path into the box and fired a low shot under the advancing Ravaglia.
Moments later, it should have been 4-0 to the Rossoneri as the home side continued to make error after error at the back. After a great through ball from Athekame, Nkunku took a touch that seemed to get him through on goal, but he overhit it slightly which allowed the goalkeeper to come out and just about scramble it clear.
Tension had been been building between Ravaglia and Nkunku after the former shoved the latter following his penalty, and the Bologna stopper went into the book for again pushing the former RB Leipzig man.
Bologna could have sparked an unlikely comeback five minutes before the hour mark when some nice build-up down the right side saw the ball cut back to Casale, who swung a boot at it but didn’t make any kind of connection.
Allegri decided to make a couple of changes midway through the second half. Fikayo Tomori and Samuele Ricci were the pair who came off, with Loftus-Cheek and Athekame the ones to make way after positive displays.
In the 72nd minute, another double change was made: Nkunku and Modric were the ones that made way on this occasion, with Niclas Füllkrug and Ardon Jashari coming on to replace them.
The two new introductions could have combined for a goal almost instantly, with Jashari does well to get to the left byline and pull a dangerous cross back into the mixer that just evaded Füllkrug, who didn’t gamble with his run.
Füllkrug had a massive opportunity to get his second goal for the club since arriving when Jashari found him with a magnificent ball over the top that put him through on goal. The German checked back well onto his left foot, yet Ravaglia was equal to the shot from close quarters.
The final change came with about seven minutes to go, and it was a worrying one for Allegri to have to make. Davide Bartesaghi pulled up clutching the back of his leg and made way for Pervis Estupinan.
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