Bologna wrapped up the Europa League league phase in style, easing past Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3–0 to secure their place in the play-offs, with goals from Jonathan Rowe, Riccardo Orsolini and Tommaso Pobega.
Already assured of a play-off berth, the Rossoblu entered the final matchday with only a faint hope of sneaking into the top eight. Jhon Lucumi remained sidelined, while Federico Bernardeschi returned to the squad on the bench.
Thiago Motta made the rare decision to start both Orsolini and Rowe following the painful 3–2 loss to Genoa.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv arrived in turmoil, having dismissed coach Zarko Lazetic just a day earlier after three straight defeats.
They were also without several key players, including Osher Davida, Mohamed Camara, Tyrese Asante, Kristijan Belic, Ioan Nicolaescu and Denny Gropper. The match was staged on neutral ground at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola.
Orsolini had an early sight of goal but glanced Nadir Zortea’s cross wide, while Dor Peretz went straight at Lukasz Skorupski when through the middle. Bologna thought they had taken the lead on 20 minutes when Orsolini nodded in Juan Miranda’s inviting delivery, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Maccabi missed a big chance when Noam Ben Harosh raced clear inside the area only to drag his shot wide.
Lewis Ferguson later tested Ofek Melika from distance, and the breakthrough soon followed when the goalkeeper could only push Nikola Moro’s strike into the path of Rowe, who reacted quickest to score.
Melika recovered to deny Santiago Castro soon after, while Kervin Andrade sent a promising effort wide with only Skorupski to beat.
Bologna pressed for a second before the break, forcing Melika into back-to-back saves from Ferguson and Castro in stoppage time.
The hosts doubled their advantage almost immediately after the restart. Zortea surged down the right and picked out Orsolini, who cut inside and rifled a low shot through a crowded penalty area.
Bernardeschi was introduced after the interval on his return from a fractured clavicle and quickly made his presence felt, though he went down too easily while appealing for a penalty before firing over the bar moments later.
A spot-kick was initially awarded when Zortea fell under pressure, but VAR overturned the decision due to minimal contact.
Bologna continued to threaten, with Niccolò Cambiaghi forcing a sharp save at the near post and Thijs Dallinga just failing to convert Miranda’s cross. Miranda himself tested Melika late on, while Remo Freuler curled narrowly wide from the ensuing corner.
Deep into stoppage time, Cambiaghi skipped past his marker and pulled the ball back, a deflection allowing Pobega to arrive unmarked and sweep home the third to seal a convincing win.
For a brief spell, Bologna climbed into eighth place and looked set for direct qualification to the Round of 16, but their fate ultimately depended on results elsewhere.
