Bologna on the brink of Champions League
Bologna took a huge step towards Champions League qualification yesterday by winning 2-0 at dejected Napoli, whose miserable season as Serie A titleholders nears its end.
Early headers from Dan Ndoye and Stefan Posch were enough for Thiago Motta’s Bologna to move third, above Juventus, and go seven points ahead of sixth-placed Roma, with a top-five finish enough for a spot in Europe’s top club competition.
B. Gladbach vs E. Frankfurt ..1-1 Cologne vs Union Berlin ........ 3-2 Freiburg vs Heidenheim ........ 1-1 Leipzig vs W. Bremen ............ 1-1 Mainz vs B. Dortmund ........... 3-0
B. Munich vs Wolfsburg ..... 17.30 Bochum vs Leverkusen ...... 19.30 Darmstadt vs Hoffenheim .15.30
B. Leverkusen 84; Stuttgart 70; B. Munich 69; Leipzig 64; Borussia Dortmund 60; E. Frankfurt 46; Freiburg 42;
Roma are at fifth-placed Atalanta – who have a game in hand – tonight with the pair level on 60 points, and anything but a win for the capital club will guarantee Bologna a place in the Champions League.
Bologna played one match in the old European Cup in 1964, the same year they won the last of their seven league titles, but have never featured in the modern Champions League.
“More than the Champions League I’m happy about the
Hoffenheim 40; Heidenheim, Augsburg, Werder Bremen 39; Wolfsburg 37; Borussia Moenchegladbach 34; Bochum 33; Mainz 32; Union Berlin 30; Cologne 28; Darmstadt 17.
A. Bilbao vs Osasuna ............. 2-2 Granada vs R. Madrid ............ 0-4 Mallorca vs Las Palmas ........ 1-0 Villarreal vs Sevilla ............... 3-2
Cadiz vs Getafe .................. 14.00
squad who once again put in a really good performance against a good team,” Motta said to DAZN.
“I’m putting all my energy into enjoying the moment because the boys were great.”
The only negative note on a great evening for Bologna was star forward Joshua Zirkzee limping off in tears with what looked like a thigh injury.
Dutchman Zirkzee, who is yet to claim a senior cap for his country with Euro 2024 around
A. Madrid vs Getafe ........... 16.15 R. Betis vs Almeria ............ 21.00 Valencia vs R. Vallecano .... 18.30
Barcelona vs R. Sociedad..21.00
Real Madrid 90; Girona 75; Barcelona 73; Atletico Madrid 67; Athletic Bilbao 62; Real Sociedad 54; Real Betis 52; Villarreal 48; Valencia 47; Getafe 43; Alaves 42; Sevilla 41; Osasuna 40; Las Palmas 37; Mallorca 35; Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano 34; Cadiz 26; Granada 21; Almeria 17. the corner, was consoled by team-mates in the Bologna dugout.
Napoli were loudly booed off at half-time and at the final whistle by livid fans who have watched their team slump from Scudetto winners last season to eighth this term.
The hosts had a chance to get back into the game when Victor Osimhen won a soft penalty in the 20th minute, but Federico Ravaglia pushed away Matteo Politano’s poor spot-kick.
TODAY – 21.00
Clermont vs Lyon ......................... Marseille vs Lorient
Montpellier vs Monaco ................ Nantes vs Lille ............................. PSG vs Toulouse .......................... Rennes vs Lens ............................ Strasbourg vs Metz .......................
PSG 70; Monaco 61; Brest 58; Lille 55; Nice 54; Lens 49; Lyon 47; Rennes 45; Marseille 44; Reims 41; Montpellier, Toulouse 40; Strasbourg 36.
Atalanta vs Roma .............. 20.45 Genoa vs Sassuolo ...................... Juventus vs Salernitana ...18.00 Lazio vs Empoli .................. 12.30 Verona vs Torino .........................
Fiorentina vs Monza .......... 20.45 Lecce vs Udinese ............... 18.30
● Mainz hammered a secondstring Borussia Dortmund 3-0 yesterday to haul themselves out of the Bundesliga’s bottom three, as Cologne came back to beat Union Berlin in a day of much importance for the relegation battle. Sitting in the relegation playoff spot at kick-off, Mainz stunned the visitors by racing into a three-goal lead inside just 23 minutes. Leandro Barreiro opened the scoring on 12 minutes, before Lee Jae-sung grabbed two goals in three minutes as the hosts tore into a much-changed Dortmund side. Mainz, who are now eight games unbeaten since losing 8-1 to Bayern Munich in March, realistically need just a point from their final game of the season at Wolfsburg to secure another season in the German top flight.