December 20, (THEWILL) — Bologna have reached the Supercoppa Italiana final after defeating Serie A leaders Inter Milan on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Al-Awwal Park in Saudi Arabia.
The underdogs prevailed in the shoot-out after Inter failed to convert three spot-kicks, with goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia denying both Alessandro Bastoni and Ange-Yoan Bonny.
Inter took the lead within 72 seconds when Bastoni surged forward to set up Marcus Thuram, who finished with an acrobatic volley at the far post.
Bologna pressed for an equaliser and were awarded a penalty after a VAR review judged Yann Bisseck guilty of handball. Captain Riccardo Orsolini converted from the spot, firing straight down the middle past Josep Martinez.
The second half saw Inter appeal for their own penalty when Torbjorn Heggem collided with Bonny, but another pitch-side review determined the Inter forward was already falling before contact occurred.
Ravaglia made several important saves in the closing stages, whilst Bastoni missed a free header from an unmarked position.
The shoot-out began with both sides converting their opening penalties, but five consecutive misses followed.
Jonathan Rowe and Ciro Immobile then scored Bologna’s final two efforts, with Immobile’s strike hitting the underside of the crossbar to confirm the Rossoblu’s progression.
Bologna will now meet Napoli in Monday’s final, having eliminated the Nerazzurri in one of the competition’s major upsets.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
