AC Milan’s push for a top-four finish in Serie A suffered a major setback as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Bologna.
The Rossoneri now sit eighth in the league with 41 points, trailing Juventus in fourth by eight points with 12 matches left in the season.
Bologna had to rally from behind to secure the victory on Thursday, overturning an early deficit after Rafael Leao broke the deadlock two minutes before halftime. The match had been rescheduled from October due to flooding.
Milan’s lead was short-lived, as Santiago Castro equalized just three minutes into the second half. A well-delivered free-kick was flicked on by Giovanni Fabbian, allowing Castro to head home. Milan players appealed for handball, but VAR upheld the goal.
Yunus Musah came close to restoring Milan’s advantage around the hour mark, but Lukasz Skorupski produced a vital stop to keep the scores level.
Nicolo Casale struck the post, and Nicolo Cambiaghi fired the rebound over, but the latter made amends in the 82nd minute.
Cambiaghi delivered a cross from the byline, and Dan Ndoye stretched to convert, handing Bologna their first league win over Milan since 2016 and their first home victory against them since 2002.
Castro has been one of Bologna’s standout performers this season as Vincenzo Italiano’s squad pushes for European qualification.
The Argentine became only the second foreign player in Bologna’s history to score at least seven Serie A goals in a single season before turning 21, following Harald Nielsen, who managed seven in 1962-63 and eight in 1961-62.
Among players in Europe’s top five leagues involved in at least 10 goals, only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is younger than Castro, who has also registered four assists this season.
Leao, meanwhile, made the most of his only clear-cut chance for Milan, finding the net with his lone shot. His goal tally in the league now stands at six—all of them scored in away fixtures.
After facing criticism from coach Sergio Conceicao, Leao responded with another crucial goal, though Milan struggled to create chances, registering just 0.62 expected goals (xG) compared to Bologna’s 1.98.
