Lorenzo De Silvestri opened the scoring and Marko Arnautovic made it 2-0 in stoppages when Bologna secured three points against bottom-placed Cagliari in a scrappy game without too many chances on Monday night.
The Casteddu arrived in Bologna desperate for points, but left empty handed once again and the pressure on Walter Mazzarri increases.
The coach has struggled to turn things around after replacing Leonardo Semplici at the helm in Sardinia and the match against Bologna was another page in a bleak chapter for the visitors.
Nahitan Nandez started the match for the visitors, while Marko Arnautovic had recovered in time to play for the hosts on Monday.
The big chances never arrived for the Sardinians, as both sides were aggressive and tense in the goalless first half at the Renato Dall’Ara.
The match never really opened up, until Marko Arnautovic split the defence with a beautiful through ball to Lorenzo De Silvestri after 49 minutes.
The full-back was charging towards Alessio Cragno’s goal and could tap it in past the Italy international in the Cagliari goal.
Bologna thus took advantage of a defensive error from Lykogiannis, who had struggled to find his position defensively during the match.
Substitute Nicola Sansone hit the upright in the 83rd minute, as the home came closer to a second than the guests were an equaliser.
A brawl inside the Bologna area during the final minute of the game made it an intense ending to a lacklustre performance from both sides.
Martin Caceres, who came on to replace Alessandro Deiola in the 69th minute, was sent off after the altercation in the oppositions box.
Cagliari seemed frustrated in Bologna on Monday and the late challenges towards the end of the game provoked the home side.
It was a special ending to the match, as both teams seemed frustrated with referee Davide Massa, but for different reasons. In the 96th minute, Arnautovic was sent through, one-on-one against Cragno, and doubled the lead in stoppages.
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s held on in the frantic final minutes and picked up their first win in four attempts. Bologna have 15 points from 11 Serie A games, while Cagliari are still bottom with six – two points behind safety in the top flight.