To the surprise of everyone, relegation contenders Verona skillfully restricted the runaway champions-elect Napoli to a single shot on target en route a goalless draw last week.
And it was the hosts who started off hungrier, prowling for an opening with great patience. Unfortunately for them, Kevin Lasagna dismally spurned a golden one-on-one opportunity, before a penalty call against Bologna’s Stefan Posch was reversed by VAR for a foul outside the box.
Verona didn’t have to wait long to get another one though, after Adolfo Gaich was brought down cynically in the penalty area. Maurizio Mariani’s decision was once again scrutinised by VAR officials, but this time his call withstood the test.
Bravely stepping up for the relegation-threatened Mastiffs, Simone Verdi wrong-footed Lukasz Skorupski with a shot into the left-hand corner and put the hosts in the driving seat halfway through a mammoth 12 minutes of time added on.
After seeing his side struggle to impose themselves after the restart, Bologna boss Thiago Motta threw the dice with a triple substitution, but it backfired spectacularly, as penalty hero Verdi once again rose to the occasion.
This time he did so quite literally, leaping like a salmon to lodge the ball into the back of the net via Davide Faraoni’s fantastic cross.
Visibly distressed, the visitors appeared shaky on the ball, but registered a consolation goal in stoppage time, after Nicolas Domiguez superbly caught the Verona backline off-guard with a dinked effort from outside the box.
However, they were ultimately beaten for just a second time in the last 10 league meetings, and are still without a win at the Bentegodi since November 2017.
The Rossoblu remain in eighth position, and will fall further down the table away from European contention if Fiorentina win at Monza tomorrow.
As for Marco Zaffaroni’s men, they are currently level on points with 17th-placed Spezia having played a game more, following a fifth league win at home in eight encounters.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Simone Verdi (Verona)