Bologna 1-4 Juventus: 5 talking points as Bianconeri secure Champions League football for next season | Serie A 2020-21
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. A brace from Alvaro Morata, coupled with goals from Federico Chiesa and Adrien Rabiot, was enough to get the job done.
Riccardo Orsolini pulled one consolation strike back for the home side, who'd already secured safety and finished 12th in the league table. But the Rossoblù were thoroughly outclassed on the night.
Here are the major talking points from the match:
#1 Juventus play like champions again
For the first and last time this season, Juventus looked like the side which romped to nine consecutive Scudettos. 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. They quickly 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. 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. 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
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.
Most of Bologna's counter-attacks either lacked the final ball or the Bianconeri just closed down well. But 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. 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.