Bologna's away form built on a shared attacking blueprint, Corriere dello Sport reports

What happened

Bologna have been the best team in the 2026 calendar year for results away from home, according to a Corriere dello Sport analysis, which reports that the rossoblù won 11 of 17 away matches in the year. The Italian newspaper also places them third in the league for points collected on the road, behind Lazio and Como.

Report details

The analysis attributes that record to a common thread running through three different coaches and three different approaches. Under Vincenzo Italiano last season, Bologna won seven of 11 away games in 2026, relying on pressure from wide players in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 without a pure centre-forward. Santiago Castro provided movement up front, Remo Freuler balanced the side, and Jonathan Rowe's agility and one-on-one ability carried weight in attack. Mimmo Tedesco kept a back four and a two-man midfield but lost both of his away games, the last against Napoli proving decisive, and the paper says the absence of a true striker was more a necessity given Artem Dovbyk's precarious condition than a choice.

Raffaele Palladino, now in charge, has four away matches and four wins, per the report. Bologna have again used a false nine in Roberto Piccoli, but more consistently Jens Odgaard, within a different shape: a back three, with wide players linking to Cambiaghi and Bernardeschi, the two long-standing wide interpreters, moved inside to encourage more runs and greater attacking value through the central advanced areas.

The common denominator identified across the three sides is the absence of a first striker, with only manoeuvring forwards deployed. Rather than relying on the acrobatic skills and short-space speed of a penalty-area centre-forward, the paper argues, Bologna have fielded players who thrive in open space, in vertical passes, in exchanges or in overlaps that free wide men and attacking midfielders to make runs. The report says the club adapted its characteristics to a more functional game while preserving a set of movements and attitudes that form a framework for each coach's own traits.

Corriere dello Sport frames this as ideas layered into behaviours that each team recognises, expressed through near-innate automatisms handed down across seasons. It notes that from now until the end of 2026, Ferguson and his teammates will play three away games out of five, suggesting the traits of a Bologna side that is "beautiful away" are likely to be highlighted further. The analysis is the newspaper's commentary rather than an official club statement.