After both Napoli and city rivals Inter picked up wins at the weekend, the onus was firmly on Milan to match their fellow title contenders. Bologna came into the game having won just once in their last 10 league games (D3, L6).
But after a morale-boosting 3-0 victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa League last Thursday, the hosts got off to a positive start with some early efforts on goals, though the Rossoneri were happy to bide their time.
That patience paid off just before the midway point of the first half, when Christopher Nkunku’s diving header was parried into the path of Adrien Rabiot, and the Frenchman played a simple pass to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who fired home.
The visitors were in total control after netting the opener and doubled their lead 10 minutes before half time, after Nkunku was brought down in the box by Bologna stopper Federico Ravaglia. Following a lengthy VAR review, the Frenchman slotted home the spotkick for 2-0.
Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano would have wanted a much-improved performance following the restart, but he was left raging as his half-time team talk went straight in the bin shortly after the teams re-emerged, thanks to an act of sheer carelessness.
Juan Miranda criminally played in Rabiot after his throw-in was thrown into no man’s land, and the Frenchman simply nodded the ball down before expertly finishing past Ravaglia, adding to his earlier assist.
With his side three goals to the good, Massimiliano Allegri took the opportunity to make changes and grant some rest to key players.
The home side struggled to gain a foothold in the contest and slumped to a third consecutive league defeat, which seems to have killed off any hope of a finish in the European qualification positions, and Italiano will be majorly concerned as his side continue to slide down the table.
Scudetto-chasing Milan, meanwhile, have now lost just once in their last 20 visits to Bologna (W14, D5).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan)