Juventus climbed above Bologna into fifth place in the Serie A standings after grinding out a 1–0 victory at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, extending the Bianconeri’s strong run of form to five wins in their last six matches in all competitions.

Bologna, who had made their second-best start to a Serie A campaign in the three-points-for-a-win era, began with confidence. Riccardo Orsolini went close early on, but his back-post effort was superbly denied by Michele Di Gregorio.

That early escape allowed Juventus to settle into the contest, and they grew in authority as the first half wore on. Weston McKennie came close when he glanced a header wide from close range, before Jonathan David saw a goal ruled out just after the half-hour mark due to an offside against McKennie in the build-up.

Both sides continued to trade chances approaching the interval. Andrea Cambiasso failed to convert at the far post for the visitors, while Bologna nearly broke the deadlock when Nadir Zortea’s angled strike crashed against the crossbar.

The second half began in similarly tight fashion, but the game swung on the hour mark when Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti introduced Lois Openda and Juan Cabal in a double substitution.

Cabal made an instant impact, rising highest to head home Kenan Yıldız’s delivery and net his second Serie A goal of the season.

Bologna’s task became even more difficult soon after, as Torbjørn Heggem was shown a straight red card for bringing down Openda as the last defender.

With a numerical advantage, Juventus looked to kill the game late on, and Openda forced Federico Ravaglia into a smart save with a low effort. The visitors’ slender lead ultimately proved sufficient, as Bologna were unable to find a response and slipped to back-to-back Serie A home defeats for the first time since January 2022.