Chievo on the brink following Bologna defeat

Chievo stand on the brink of relegation from Serie A following a 3-0 defeat at Bologna who enjoyed a fourth win in five matches to lift themselves out of the bottom three.

Two penalties from Erick Pulgar in three second-half minutes and a late strike from Mitchell Dijks clinched a deserved three points for Bologna to leave Chievo 19 points adrift with only 21 available.

The home side thought they had taken a ninth-minute lead through Riccardo Orsolini, however, following a VAR review he was deemed to be marginally offside.

Orsolini should have bagged the opener seven minutes later but despite being played in by Rodrigo Palacio, fired his shot disappointingly wide.

Palacio then enjoyed two first-half chances of his own but was denied on both occasions by goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.

After Lukasz Skorupski turned aside Chievo’s best chance from Mattia Bani on the hour, Pulgar then took his goals tally to five this season – all from the spot and in the last seven matches – with penalties in the 65th and 68th minutes.

Salt was rubbed into Chievo’s wounds when Bani was dismissed in the 79th minute for two bookable offences, with Dijks sealing the win 10 minutes later with only his second goal for the club, and first since his debut in mid-August.