Milan’s unbeaten Serie A start came to an emphatic end as Bologna recovered from falling behind twice to win 4-2 at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
The result ended a run that had left Milan as one of only four unbeaten teams in the division. They had also held the stronger recent head-to-head record against Bologna, whose mid-table position appeared to leave the pressure on the home side.
Bologna had failed to score against Milan in the league last season, although they had beaten them at San Siro in the Coppa Italia as recently as May 2025. Raffaele Palladino’s side arrived with two wins, two draws and two defeats from their previous six matches and needed what would arguably be their best performance of the season.
Palladino made two changes to his starting XI, while Ruben Amorim made three. The Milan manager would have wanted a response after the recent defeat by Bournemouth in the Europa League, following the weekend victory at Udinese.
However, Bologna made the quicker start. Before Samuel Mbangula gave the visitors an eighth-minute lead, they had already created two attempts. Milan had not won any of their previous eight matches after conceding first, leaving them with a difficult task for the remaining 82 minutes.
Their response was immediate. Alphadjo Cisse equalised five minutes later and put Milan in front in the 26th minute. Between his two goals, the hosts controlled 69% of possession.
Fikayo Tomori led Milan’s defensive effort, making four first-half tackles – more than any other player – while limiting Nadir Zortea and Federico Bernardeschi. Pervis Estupinan also made four tackles, and Strahinja Pavlovic won 10 of his 14 duels, comfortably the best total in the match.
Bologna continued to move the ball effectively despite trailing. Rahim Alhassane completed 100% of his passes, followed by Lewis Ferguson on 92.2% and Samuel Mbangula on 90%.
Mbangula, Bernardeschi, Zortea and Jens Odgaard began to find space in attack, with each recording at least four touches in Milan’s penalty area. Odgaard also managed two early second-half attempts.
The balance changed after both managers made a series of substitutions. On the hour, Davide Bartesaghi scored an own goal to bring Bologna level, before Mbangula restored their lead two minutes later.
It was Bologna’s first three-goal Serie A match since 23 May, when they drew 3-3 with Milan’s city rivals Internazionale. Milan then went more than 30 minutes without an attempt, while their frustration was reflected by their 10th foul with 20 minutes remaining.
Luka Modric tried to revive the hosts, completing 97.5% of his passes. Milan had 80% possession late on, but their only reward was a Francesco Camarda shot as Bologna defended deep.
Mbangula completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute, prompting supporters to leave the stadium. Milan applied late pressure but could not beat Christian Comotto again, as Bologna secured a notable victory.