Bologna beat Napoli 3-2 with late Rowe winner

Napoli fought back from 2-0 down, but Bologna snatched a stunning 3-2 victory at the Stadio Maradona with Jonathan Rowe’s acrobatic volley, putting Champions League football back in doubt.

The Partenopei knew a victory would guarantee a top four finish, but Kevin De Bruyne was ruled out after a nasty clash of heads in training left him needing four stitches to his cheekbone. Romelu Lukaku and David Neres also missed out, though Giovanni Di Lorenzo returned for his first appearance since knee ligament damage on January 31. Bologna had Joao Mario back, but missed Martin Vitik, Nicolò Cambiaghi and Nicolò Casale, with Jonathan Rowe only fit for the bench. They had beaten Napoli 2-0 in Serie A earlier this season, but lost by the same result in the Supercoppa Italiana Final on December 22.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 11: Vincenzo Italiano Bologna FC 1909 head coach greets Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 11, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) Bologna had a strong start and took the lead when Federico Bernardeschi combined with Juan Miranda to smash a ferocious left-foot strike into the far top corner.

It was nearly 2-0 moments later, as when Riccardo Orsolini was blocked off, it came to Miranda to fire onto the top of the upright.

Napoli tried to respond, twice testing Massimo Pessina with Giovane and Alisson Santos, then Scott McTominay’s glancing header flashed inches wide from an Alisson Santos corner.

Bologna had penalty appeals when Miranda got to the ball before Di Lorenzo and was caught on the boot, so it was given following the VAR review. Orsolini had never scored a goal against Napoli before in his career, but managed to squirm the spot-kick in despite Vanja Milinkovic-Savic getting a glove to it.

NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 11: Riccardo Orsolini of Bologna FC 1909 scores his side second goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 11, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) Joao Mario was booked for crashing into McTominay on the edge of the area, the referee opting for a yellow card and not sufficient for a straight red.

Di Lorenzo made up for his earlier error and marked his return after three months with a goal. Rasmus Hojlund held up Matteo Politano’s pass, it ricocheted off Remo Freuler into the captain’s path, who fired in off the underside of the bar from a tricky angle.

NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 11: Giovanni Di Lorenzo of SSC Napoli scores his side first goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 11, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) After the restart, Di Lorenzo’s glancing header on a Politano corner skimmed the crossbar, but Napoli completed the comeback moments later.

Hojlund laid it off down the left for Alisson Santos to sweep the angled drive into the far bottom corner with the inside of the right boot.

NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 11: Alisson Santos of SSC Napoli celebrates after scoring his side second goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 11, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) Politano forced a one-handed save from Pessina, as did Miguel Gutierrez with a cross-shot at the near post, while Amir Rrahmani blasted wide.

Just as it seemed to be heading for a 2-2 draw, Bologna restored their lead with a moment of pure magic. Milinkovic-Savic got his gloves to the powerful Miranda cross-shot, but it looped up nicely for the acrobatic Rowe scissor-kick volley from 12 yards.

GOOOLLLLLAAAAAAZZZZOOOOO! Jonathan Rowe airson Bologna!

GOOOLLLLLAAAAAAZZZZOOOOO! Jonathan Rowe with a bicycle-kick in injury time to win it for Bologna! pic.twitter.com/apDOKUOlzo

— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) May 11, 2026

Napoli 2-3 Bologna Bernardeschi 10 (B), Orsolini pen 35 (B), Di Lorenzo 45 (N), Alisson Santos 48 (N), Rowe 91 (B)

11-05-2026 19:45

MatchDay 36

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

Napoli

Bologna

Live 2 - 3

Player statistic

1st half

9'

Federico Bernardeschi (Assist: Juan Miranda)

34'

Riccardo Orsolini

38'

João Mário

Giovanni Di Lorenzo

45+2'

2nd half

47'

Federico Bernardeschi

Alisson Santos (Assist: Rasmus Højlund)

48'

58'

Eivind Helland

69'

Jhon Lucumí

Matteo Politano

84'

90+1'

Jonathan Rowe

Match statistic

52

Possession %

48

14

Total shots

10

5

Shots on target

4

5

Shots off target

5

4

Blocked shots

1

7

Corners

1

4

Offsides

10

Fouls

12

Napoli

Bologna

Starting lineups

32

Vanja Milinković-Savić Goalkeeper

4

Alessandro Buongiorno Defender

13

Amir Rrahmani Defender

22

Giovanni Di Lorenzo Defender

3

Miguel Gutiérrez Defender

87'

8

Scott McTominay Midfielder

68

Stanislav Lobotka Midfielder

76'

27

Alisson Santos Attacker

23

Giovane Nascimento Attacker

76'

21

Matteo Politano Attacker

84'

19

Rasmus Højlund Attacker

25

Massimo Pessina Goalkeeper

5

Eivind Helland Defender

81'

26

Jhon Lucumí Defender

17

João Mário Defender

64'

33

Juan Miranda Defender

19

Lewis Ferguson Midfielder

82'

8

Remo Freuler Midfielder

4

Tommaso Pobega Midfielder

81'

10

Federico Bernardeschi Attacker

73'

7

Riccardo Orsolini Attacker

9

Santiago Castro Attacker

Substitutes

5

Juan Jesus Defender

1

Alex Meret Goalkeeper

99

Frank Anguissa Midfielder

14

Nikita Contini Goalkeeper

26

Antonio Vergara Midfielder

17

Mathías Olivera Defender

31

Sam Beukema Defender

20

Eljif Elmas Midfielder

76'

6

Billy Gilmour Midfielder

76'

37

Leonardo Spinazzola Defender

84'

30

Pasquale Mazzocchi Defender

87'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis Defender

29

Lorenzo De Silvestri Defender

1

Lukasz Skorupski Goalkeeper

13

Federico Ravaglia Goalkeeper

21

Jens Odgaard Attacker

24

Thijs Dallinga Attacker

30

Benja Domínguez Attacker

20

Nadir Zortea Defender

64'

11

Jonathan Rowe Midfielder

73'

6

Nikola Moro Midfielder

81'

14

Torbjørn Heggem Defender

81'

23

Simon Sohm Midfielder

82'