Napoli v Bologna, Getty Images December 22, 2025, 10:56 p.m

Money has taken over the football world long enough to put up with it. But big money is already beginning to make a difference, or to induce a certain choice in favor of one or another. So how can you deny yourself the opportunity to receive profits on an equal footing, which cannot be collected on the domestic market even under the best conditions? The Italian football powerhouses at one time did not deny themselves this, so now we are watching this country’s Super Cup held in Saudi Arabia.

They also added the “format of four”, because why not? The two best teams in Serie A were added to the company of the classic reigning champion and Cup winner, but this year Milan and Inter did not compete with Napoli and Bologna in the semifinals, so only those who should have been there by the standard definition of the competition were admitted to the decisive game for the Super Cup.

And already in Riyadh late on Monday evening, it became clear that the current champion either banally wants to collect this trophy for the third time in history, or simply plays much better than the opponents who left Antonio Conte’s team with nothing in the championship on their own field a few weeks ago. However, this time Vincenzo Italiano’s team was as far from it as possible.

Napoli played much better, while we could not understand Bologna’s tactics. Did they really want to go to the penalty shootout and decide something there? But the rivals did not give. “Partenopeia” took a long time to get their first goal, but in the end Neres did put a magnificent long shot from the right wing into the opposite corner at the end of the first half.

And already after the break, Goilunn and Rrahmani should have closed this game, if it were not for the saves of the goalkeeper Ravalia, who was almost the only one in the “Rossoblu” team, who at least somehow demonstrated the appropriate level of opposition to the opponents. And there was one goal chance for Ferguson at the beginning of the second half, almost the only real one for his team, but from a few meters he managed to break through with his head except for the bulky Milinkovic-Savic on the goal line.

And almost immediately after that, Ravallia made a mistake with a pass to the left flank of the defense, giving the ball to Neres, who a moment later flipped the ball over the goalkeeper’s head from an acute angle. At that point, everything was finished in terms of the fight in this game, because Bologna did not gather their thoughts, so why they filled half the stands of the An-Nasra home stadium is not too clear either.

Bologna: Ravalha — Holm, Geggem, Lukumi, Miranda — Ferguson (Dallinga, 69), Pobega — Orsolini (Dominguez, 80), Odgor (Moreau, 46), Cambiagi (Row, 69) — Castro (Immobile, 80).

Warning: Politano — Heggem, Cambiagi, Holm