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Bologna 1-4 Juventus: 5 talking points as Bianconeri secure Champions League football for next season | Serie A 2020-21

Juventus qualified for Champions League after late drama
Juventus qualified for Champions League after late drama
Sachin Bhat
ANALYST
Modified 4 hr ago
Top 5 / Top 10

Juventus will play in the Champions League next season after seeing off Bologna 4-1 as Napoli are held at home to Hellas Verona in a dramatic season finale in Serie A.

Even without Cristiano Ronaldo, the Bianconeri cruised to a comfortable victory on the back of a brace from Alvaro Morata coupled with goals from Federico Chiesa and Adrien Rabiot.

Riccardo Orsolini pulled one consolation strike back for the home side, who'd already secured safety and finished 12th in the league table, as the Rossoblù were thoroughly outclassed on the night.

Here are the major talking points from the match:


#1 Juventus play like champions again

Where was this version of Juventus all season?
Where was this version of Juventus all season?

For the first and last time this season, Juventus looked like the side which romped to nine consecutive Scudettos, as the dethroned champions hit all the right notes on a balmy night in Bologna.

Contrary to their tepid, unidimensional kneading of the ball and lack of creativity, the Bianconeri tore the hosts asunder with quick, tiki-taka-style passing and raced to an unassailable 3-0 lead before the break.

A similarly frantic restart saw Morata bag their fourth on the night in the 47th minute after goalkeeper Wojceich Szczesny found the striker with a superb, looping cross from range as Juventus put the contest to bed long before the full-time whistle.

The best part was that Ronaldo was not even needed tonight, although such a performance on more occasions this season might as well have won them a tenth consecutive Scudetto. It's time for an inquest now.


#2 Bologna leave it too late

Bologna threw everything at Juventus in the dying embers
Bologna threw everything at Juventus in the dying embers

Juventus took their foot off the gas after Morata scored the fourth goal. That allowed Bologna to find their feet in the game as Sinisa Mihajlovic's side attempted to catch their mighty visitors on the break.

While most of their counter-attacks either lacked the final ball or the Bianconeri just closed down well, their persistence paid off when Rodrigo Palacio's cross into the six-yard box found Orsolini, who slotted the ball home from a tight angle.

The breakthrough seemed to have spurred Rossoblu on as they ran at Juventus with confidence and pushed them on the backfoot for the final few minutes of the game, though it was a case of too little too late.

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