Bologna, August 15, 2026 – Bologna closes its last preseason friendly with another defeat, conceding a narrow 1-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion which leaves the last insights and reflections for coach Tedesco ahead of the league debut against Lazio on Monday, August 24.
And while the Rossoblù coach can be satisfied with the defensive solidity that his Bologna showed over 90 minutes, less can be said for the volume of play created in attack, where the sterility of the forwards and the limited contribution from the most talented players allowed Brighton to press Bologna into their own penalty area. More than once, the best reflexes of the best Skorupski were needed to push the Englishmen back. Tedesco got little from Orsolini and Bernardeschi. The contribution to the cause from Dovbyk was also scarce, starting from the first minute at the center of the attack and then replaced by Piccoli in the second half.
No shots on target for the Ukrainian striker, who struggled to cope with the physicality of the white-and-blue center-backs, also due to the scarcity of supply from his teammates. Positive flashes came instead on the left flank, with Miranda and Cambiaghi combining twice for the best chances Bologna managed to create during the match. Before Hinshelwood’s goal at 58′ decided the game, opening the door to a thirty-minute experimental phase with a flurry of substitutions to fine-tune the last details for when it really counts.
The challenge at the Amex Stadium followed English lines from the start, when after 5′ De Cuyper’s strike rewarded the greater pressure from the Seagulls who pressed the Rossoblù. Until the 14th minute when the Miranda-Cambiaghi axis produced one of Bologna’s two best chances in the ninety minutes. The Spaniard threaded a good pass to his teammate attacking the line, but in front of Verbruggen Cambiaghi tried a chip that fizzled out and was caught by the goalkeeper’s gloves. The last highlight of a first half in which Bologna thought more about not conceding than attacking, as shown by Hinshelwood’s sure shot which Skorupski blocked with a reflex save to keep the score 0-0 before halftime despite several minutes spent under pressure by the Rossoblù. Colorless and unable to lift the team physically or combine with his teammates in hold-up play, Artem Dovbyk’s match ended after 45′ and the debut came for new signing Roberto Piccoli. However, the spotlight in the second half was again taken by the Miranda-Cambiaghi duo. This time the Spaniard did not thread a pass but swung a horizontal ball that cut through the penalty area like an arrow to land precisely on Cambiaghi’s right foot. The powerful volley, however, again found Verbruggen in the right place with the right glove. A moment later, Brighton responded with Kadioglu rattling the post. The prelude to Albion’s lead which came at 58′ from the feet of a lively Hinshelwood, who cleverly read Wieffer’s poorly calibrated shot, which bypassed Skorupski and allowed the English midfielder to breach the Rossoblù goal left unguarded.
The scoreline
BRIGHTON 1
BOLOGNA 0
Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer (78′ Julio), Vuskovic (66′ Svoboda), Boscagli (66′ Yalcouyé), Kadioglu (78′ Costinha); Gross, Ayari; De Cuyper (66′ Osman), Diego Gomez (66′ Yohanna), Hinshelwood (66′ Dunk); Rutter (73′ Kostoulas). Coach: Hürzeler. Available: Steele, McGill, Cashin, Cozier-Duberry, O’Mahony, Tasker.
Bologna: Skorupski, Zortea (72′ Holm), Heggem, Helland (72′ Pobega), Miranda (84′ De Silvestri), El Azzouzi (72′ Moro), Ferguson (72′ Amondarain), Bernardeschi (84′ Libra), Orsolini (62′ Rowe), Dovbyk (46′ Piccoli), Cambiaghi (62′ Odgaard). Coach: Tedesco. Available: Pessina, Happonen.
Referee: Busby.
Goals: 58′ Hinshelwood (B).
