Bologna continued their impressive run of form in Serie A after defeating 10-man Parma 2-1 in Saturday’s Emilia-Romagna derby, extending their winning streak to four matches.
The visitors capitalised on an early dismissal to dominate proceedings at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, with goals from Arthur Theate and Riccardo Orsolini securing all three points despite a late response from the hosts.
Parma’s hopes of claiming a positive result suffered a major setback in the ninth minute when Abdoulaye Ndiaye was sent off for denying Jens Odgaard a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The referee initially allowed play to continue but changed his decision after consulting the Video Assistant Referee.
Bologna took advantage of their numerical superiority and created several opportunities, but Parma goalkeeper Giovanni Daffara produced a series of impressive saves to keep his side in the contest.
The hosts also suffered an injury setback when David Romero was forced off after an awkward fall.
The visitors eventually broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute through Theate, who headed home from close range after connecting with Nicolò Cambiaghi’s cross.
Bologna doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute when Orsolini converted a penalty awarded following a VAR review after El Bilal Touré was adjudged to have fouled Cambiaghi inside the penalty area.
Parma refused to surrender and reduced the deficit in the 81st minute through Vincent Sierro, who calmly converted a penalty after another VAR intervention identified a foul on Giovanni Fabbian by Martin Vitik.
Despite playing with 10 men for most of the encounter, Parma pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, with Daffara also making another important save to prevent Bernardeschi from scoring.
Christian Ordoñez nearly rescued a point for the hosts in stoppage time, but his powerful effort flew narrowly over the crossbar as Bologna held on for victory.
