Serie A | Monza 0-0 Bologna: Saelemaekers sees red

Both Monza and Bologna had goals disallowed, while Alexis Saelemaekers lost his temper and saw red for dissent in this stalemate.

It had been a stuttering start to the campaign for both teams, managing only one victory so far. The hosts lost Gianluca Caprari for the season to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, while Stefan Posch, Jhon Lucumi and Adama Soumaoro injuries forced Thiago Motta to completely revamp his defence.

There was a banner in the stands for President Silvio Berlusconi, as tomorrow would’ve been his birthday.

Monza had the ball in the net with a header from Dany Mota Carvalho, but the goal was all about the cross from Andrea Colpani, which was given a vicious bend off the outside of the boot. However, after a very long VAR review, it was ruled offside by little more than a kneecap.

Both goalkeepers were called into action in the space of 60 seconds to deny Patrick Ciurria at full stretch and Riccardo Orsolini’s angled drive.

Lukasz Skorupski had to be alert when Lorenzo Colombo came sliding in to redirect a Ciurria low cross, palming it away.

Straight after the restart, it was Bologna’s turn to have a goal disallowed by the finest of margins, as the referee considered Joshua Zirkzee’s challenge on Luca Caldirola to be a foul just before the Lewis Ferguson header. VAR evaluated it, but opted not to intervene, although it did not seem like a foul.

Colpani drilled wide and Skorupski took the sting out of a Dany Mota Carvalho strike, while Beukema also couldn’t get enough power on the finish from close range.

Samuel Vignato couldn’t get a clean finish on the Samuele Birindelli pull-back from the by-line, as Michel Aebischer managed to make it as tricky as possible with his positioning.

Bologna went down to 10 men in an entirely avoidable incident, as Alexis Saelemaekers was booked for dissent over a foul that he was not involved in, then sarcastically applauded the referee to immediately receive another yellow card. His ban could be even worse, as storming off the former Milan winger also shouted something at the fourth official.

Monza 0-0 Bologna

Sent off: Saelemaekers 87 (B)