Bologna beat Milan in Coppa Italia final for 1st major title since 1974

Dan Ndoye will go down in history as the man who ended Bologna's 51-year major trophy drought.

The Swiss international's 53rd-minute goal gave Bologna a 1-0 win over AC Milan in Wednesday's Coppa Italia final in Rome, crowning his team's transformation at the end of a season in which they made their Champions League debut.

Bologna hadn't even reached a major final since they last won the competition in 1974, when they beat Palermo on penalty kicks to raise the trophy. This time, Vincenzo Italiano's side overcame Monza, Atalanta, and surprise package Empoli in the knockout round before shutting out Milan in the final.

Milan's own Coppa Italia drought goes on. The Rossoneri haven't been domestic cup champions since 2003 and have lost each of their past three finals.

Italiano had also lost the last three finals he coached. The 47-year-old manager dropped back-to-back Conference League title matches with Fiorentina and finished runner-up to Inter Milan in the 2023 Coppa Italia final. But he was lifted high into the Roman air on Wednesday after hatching a plan that muzzled Milan's higher-paid attackers.

"(Those finals) were three heavy disappointments," Italiano told Sportmediaset. "I didn't think I would come back and get my revenge, but we succeeded."

Milan blew a golden opportunity to salvage a disappointing season that is now likely to end without Champions League qualification. They're currently in eighth place in Serie A, four points behind the fourth and final Champions League berth and three points outside of the Europa League and Conference League places.

Bologna have also struggled down the stretch and blew a lead in Friday's 2-1 loss to Milan in Serie A. But there was no slip-up here. Bologna backpedaled after taking the lead and clogged passing lanes with five and six defenders at the back. Milan couldn't find a breakthrough with Kyle Walker, Joao Felix, and Santiago Gimenez on as second-half substitutes.

Milan's two leading scorers, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and winger Christian Pulisic, barely had any impact on the game. Rafael Leao created one of his team's best chances as early as the fifth minute, dribbling past defenders before squaring to wing-back Alex Jimenez and watching as his shot went wide. Jimenez created another later in the first half when he stole possession and crossed for striker Luka Jovic, but Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski saved from point-blank range.

Bologna controlled the rest of the half and came out of the interval the sharpest of the two sides. Another dangerous attack released star winger Riccardo Orsolini into the penalty area, and while Milan's Theo Hernandez won an important tackle, the rebound landed at Ndoye, who smashed home with defenders closing in on him.

Milan chased an equalizer but posed little threat outside of hopeful long balls forward. The irony wasn't lost when Davide Calabria and Tommaso Pobega, both on loan from Milan, came on for Bologna to close out the game.