Bologna book Milan showdown after beating Empoli in Coppa Italia

The Rossoblu beat Empoli 5-1 on aggregate to reach the final of the Coppa Italia for the first time since 1974. They will face AC Milan, who thumped city rivals Inter Milan 3-0 in Wednesday's semi-final second-leg at the San Siro, on May 14.

For Bologna, reaching the final means the end of a 50-year drought. For Italiano, it is simply business as usual. The Italian manager, now an expert at playing in a final, has conquered his fourth since 2023, but only his first as Bologna manager.

He arrived at the Emilia-Romagna outfit last summer after guiding Fiorentina to three finals in just two seasons, though he lost every one of them. Italiano has become a near-guarantee of reaching the final stage, though silverware has so far eluded him.

This year, he'll be determined to shake off that reputation. After their 3-0 at Empoli in the first leg, Bologna showed no mercy coming into Thursday night's decider, with midfielder Fabbian opening the scoring at the Dall'Ara after 7 minutes on the clock.

Kovalenko pulled the visitors clear past the half-hour mark, but it was not enough to initiate a comeback from Empoli. Dallinga made sure Bologna claimed wins in both ties, as he netted from Lykogiannis' assist in the 86th minute to seal the scoreline at 2-1.