Milan have made San Siro a fortress this season, but it looked anything but impenetrable in the opening stages of this game.
Bologna started on the offensive and came within a whisker of taking the lead inside the opening five minutes when Nadir Zortea’s cross was no more than an inch away from being turned in by the studs of Jens Odgaard before Mbangula fired the recycled ball wide.
The visitors weren’t going to let the hosts off the hook twice, though, and it was Mbangula who punished them on his first Serie A start when he swept home Zortea’s cutback.
Their joy was short-lived though, as Bologna self-imploded to allow Milan back into the game.
Arthur Theate was caught in possession by Omari Hutchinson, who blocked his attempted clearance, and the ball fell kindly to Alphadjo Cisse, who was able to squeeze home a swift equaliser.
Milan were hugely incentivised by levelling the scores, and that goal swung the game firmly in their favour. They took full advantage of being in the ascendancy on 27 minutes when Fikayo Tomori was quickest to pounce on a loose ball inside the area, and he laid on a perfect cross for Cisse to double his tally for the evening.
Bologna came out firing with a renewed belief after half-time and came tantalisingly close to getting back on level terms when Odgaard, on the stretch, turned Federico Bernadeschi’s cross inches over the bar.
But the visitors were undeterred and eventually got their reward when Juan Miranda’s teasing ball into the area bamboozled the Milan defence and was turned into his own net by Davide Bartesaghi.
The Rossoneri were crumbling at that point, and with their foot still to the floor, Bologna regained the lead when Miranda cut the ball back for Mbangula to coolly slot home his second goal of the evening.
The concerning fact for Milan was that the 80th minute arrived without them having a single shot in the second half, meaning they were going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the closing stages to get back into the game.
Francesco Camarda squandered a golden chance to get Milan on level terms when he headed wide from six yards out, and that proved costly as Bologna wrapped the game up on the counter through Mbangula, ensuring Raffaele Palladino became only the third Bologna manager to win each of his first three Serie A away games with the club.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Samuel Mbangula (Bologna)
