Bologna

The result leaves Villa top of the 36-team league table, with three victories, six goals scored and zero conceded.

Unai Emery's side claimed the victory thanks to second-half goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran, who was starting just his second match of the season in all competitions.

Villa controlled the match for large periods and had multiple chances to open the scoring before McGinn's free-kick went all the way through a sea of bodies and into the top corner. The Scot's goal was checked by VAR for a possible handball but later confirmed. 

Duran then doubled their lead in the 64th minute - Morgan Rogers swung a cross into the box, which the Colombian flicked into the goal after holding off a defender.

Next up for Villa in the Champions League is a trip to Club Brugge, while Bologna - who are 28th with one point - host Monaco.

Data debrief: Villa make history

Villa's victory on Tuesday helped them become only the third team to ever win their first three Champions League matches without conceding.

Unai Emery, meanwhile, became only the fifth Spanish manager to have won 25 matches in the competition, alongside Pep Guardiola, Vicente Del Bosque, Rafa Benitez and Luis Enrique.

For Bologna, it is one victory in 11 matches in all competitions so far this season.

The stalemate at Estadio da Luz left the Serie A side on two points after their opening six matches, and six points adrift of the play-off places.

Benfica thought they had taken the lead after just two minutes, but Vangelis Pavlidis saw his effort ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Bruno Lage's side continued to carry the greater attacking threat, registering 15 shots to their opponents' six.

Skorupski made a superb reflex save to deny Pavlidis after the break, and the hosts' profligacy later on meant they had to settle for a share of the spoils. 

Data Debrief: Bologna draw another blank

There were 10 yellow cards brandished during the game, the most in any match in this season's Champions League.

In drawing another blank, Bologna are the third time in Champions League history to score as few as one goal across their first six games in the competition, after Galatasaray in 1993-94 and Levski Sofia in 2006-07 (both also one).

Meanwhile, Benfica recorded a 0-0 draw on home soil in the Champions League for the first time since December 2014, and have now failed to score in four of their last seven games in the competition at Estadio da Luz.

The first half lacked excitement, but Bologna's fans relished the milestone occasion as they returned to Europe's elite club competition for the first time in almost 60 years.

The game was four minutes old, though, when the visitors had a chance to take the lead, Stefan Posch fouling Eguinaldo to concede an early penalty.

However, Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski denied Heorhiy Sudakov from 12 yards, and that was the most dramatic moment of an otherwise tepid affair. 

Despite an energetic start to the second half and a couple of impressive saves from Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk, neither team could make a breakthrough, taking a point apiece from their first outing in the competition's new-look league phase.

Data Debrief: Skorupski the hero

In a game low on attacking quality, Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski made headlines with his early penalty save, becoming the sixth Polish shot-stopper to keep out a penalty in the Champions League.

It also means that three of the last four penalties taken in the first four minutes of a Champions League game have not found the net.

Monaco captain Kehrer, left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flicked-on corner to snatch the points.

The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while also dealing Bologna their first-ever home defeat in European competition.

Both sides saw goals chalked off in the first half, Monaco's Wilfried Singo being penalised for a foul on Lukasz Skorupski before Santiago Castro saw a curling strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up.

The two Polish goakeepers, Monaco's Radoslaw Majecki and Bologna's Skorupski, both made several fine saves to keep the game goalless until Kehrer got the all-important touch on an inswinging corner late on.

The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.

Data Debrief: Long-awaited shutout for Monaco 

Monaco have now won consecutive games in the Champions League for the first time since a run of three in 2017, also ending a 23-game run without a clean sheet in the competition.

Bologna, meanwhile, are the only side in this season's Champions League to play four matches and fail to score, despite registering 48 shots in total and an xG tally of 3.19. 

Mukau opened the scoring for Lille a minute before the break from a rebound after his initial shot was blocked, before Bologna struck through Jhon Lucumi in the 63rd minute.

That marked the Serie A side's first goal in the competition this campaign, though the home celebrations were cut short soon after.

Mukau scored his second just three minutes later before Bologna were unable to find another goal as their goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski pulled off several fine saves to keep them in the game.

Lille's win moved them on to 10 points in the standings, while Bologna remain on one point after slumping to their third successive defeat.

Data Debrief: Lovely Lille flying

Outside of the knockout stages, Lille have lost just one of their last nine matches in the Champions League (W6 D2), losing 2-0 against Sporting CP on MD1 this season.

Bologna, meanwhile, have lost their last four in this competition and are the first Italian side to suffer as many defeats in a row in a single campaign.

The Serie A club, at least, avoided becoming just the second side to fail to score in their first five games in Champions League history, with Galatasaray the only to do so during the 1993-94 season.

Spalletti said a decision has been made on his Napoli future before kick-off, with many expecting the Partenopei boss to depart, yet his side initially appeared far from distracted at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Victor Osimhen seized on an early Lukasz Skorupski mistake to open the scoring before doubling his – and Napoli's – tally after 54 minutes with a powerful finish across goal.

However, Lewis Ferguson halved the arrears just past the hour before De Silvestri headed home with six minutes remaining, and only the offside flag denied Nicola Sansone a late winner as Napoli were forced to cling on. 

A terrible pass from Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski gifted Napoli their 14th-minute opener as Osimhen intercepted on the edge of the area and finished into an empty net.

Skorupski somewhat made amends by thwarting both Osimhen and Alessio Zerbin as Napoli threatened to extend their lead before the break.

Marko Arnautovic skimmed a rare Bologna chance across the face of an empty goal after the interval before Osimhen furthered Napoli's advantage.

The Napoli striker rolled onto Bartosz Bereszynski's delicate throughball before firing through the legs of Skorupski.

An unmarked Ferguson pulled one back shortly thereafter, tapping in a rebound after Pierluigi Gollini saved from Sansone, who subsequently assisted De Silvestri's headed equaliser with a delightful corner.

Sansone then thought he had snatched a late victory with a one-on-one finish, only to be denied by a belated offside flag. 

In a statement, the Serie A club said their head coach was "absolutely asymptomatic" after the results of the swab test.

Mihajlovic will now begin two weeks in isolation, in line with national guidelines in Italy.

Bologna also tested their primavera team, with all of those coming back negative.

The first-team squad and coaching staff are due to be tested on Monday.

Mihajlovic was diagnosed with leukaemia last year and spent time away from the Bologna bench to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

He signed a contract extension until 2023 in June.

The 2020-21 Serie A season is due to begin on September 19.

As well as reopening parks, gardens and cemeteries to the public, the region has also declared individual sport training sessions can start up again.

That could be good news for top-flight clubs Bologna, Parma, Sassuolo and SPAL, although central government could yet overrule the regional guidance.

In a statement issued on its website on Friday, the Emilia-Romagna local authority listed various ways in which it intended to lift coronavirus restrictions from May 4.

The statement included the following: "Green light also for the training in individual form of professional and non-professional athletes recognised by the Italian National Olympic Committee, by the Italian Paralympic Committee and by their respective federations, in compliance with the rules of social distancing and without any gatherings in closed-door structures, also for athletes of non-individual sports disciplines."

The move by regional governor Stefano Bonaccini represents a significant shift in a country that has been hit hard by the global pandemic.

Reports in Italy have said clubs could yet be barred from welcoming back their players on Monday, after the national government's regional affairs minister Stefano Boccia intervened to express opposition when the Calabria region this week announced it would be reopening bars and restaurants.

Prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced last weekend that professional sports teams could resume training on May 18.

Sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has urged Serie A teams to focus their energy on next season, after France and the Netherlands became the first high-profile European leagues to abandon the 2019-20 campaign.

Spadafora said on Wednesday: "I always said that resuming training absolutely does not mean resuming the season."

Appearing in Europe's premier club competition for the first time in over 40 years, Villa have won each of their opening three matches, while they are yet to concede a goal.

Their unblemished start continued on Tuesday, with goals from McGinn and Jhon Duran sealing a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Villa Park and moving them top of the league table.

Though Villa are still seeking their first silverware under Emery during his two-year spell, McGinn thinks the Spaniard's place in the club's history is already secured.

"No matter what happens until now and whenever he leaves - we hope it's never - he will certainly go down as one of our club's greatest managers," the skipper said.

"You feed off your leader. He is our leader and we feed off that. No-one can question what he puts in, the effort - and everything which comes his way and our way is on the back of hard work.

"He is just so driven. I have never met anyone like him. He just focuses his full energy all the time. 

"He does not let us take our foot off the gas, so we can use all our energy and enthusiasm, and the excitement we have. His determination and intensity is unmatched."

Emery's side welcome Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday, aiming to maintain their perfect record in the competition so far. 

They also come into the encounter unbeaten in nine games in all competitions after defeating Fulham 3-1 in the Premier League, a result that propelled them into the top four. 

Emery is looking to pick up his 25th Champions League win, and would become the fifth Spanish manager to reach that total after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benítez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

But aside from personal accolades, Emery has his eyes set on helping the Villans become regular contenders for silverware during his time at the helm. 

"I don't want to waste my time here, that is my message," said Emery. "We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League.

"It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances - I want us to stay there for a long time.

"You have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers."

Should Villa beat the Serie A side, they will also equal their longest streak of victories in the European Cup or Champions League, last earning three consecutive wins between September and October 1981. 

Emery will celebrate his second anniversary as Villa manager on Thursday but is only looking at how he can help the club continue to grow after their meteoric rise under his stewardship in the last 24 months.

"The most important thing is for us how we are increasing our demands and with those getting the objectives we are facing each year," he outlined.

"Two years ago we avoided a risk of relegation and even had time to get a position in the Conference League, which was amazing in the first seven months we had here.

"Last year we continued our process, and we increased a lot our demands, getting the Champions League.

"The challenge is to get better every day, and now how can we keep the same level we have now for a long time? That’s the most difficult thing.

"When you achieve an objective at a high level, how can you be demanding and successful in keeping it? That’s the idea I have now. The club is in the same way.

"The players are with the same message I am giving you here. The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is I don’t want to waste my time here.

"That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here. We are professionals, and we can get our best objectives individually and collectively.

"We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy."

Tuesday's fixture against Bologna will be the first time the two sides faced each other in any competition, though Villa have struggled against sides from Italy. 

They have lost four of their six major European games against Italian sides, with the two wins both coming at home against Inter in 1990 and 1994, in the UEFA Cup.

Inter had forged ahead in the first half courtesy of Romelu Lukaku before Bologna's Roberto Soriano received a red card for dissent after 57 minutes. 

Lautaro Martinez could have all but wrapped up the win from the penalty spot five minutes later but Lukasz Skorupski kept out his tame effort.

That gave the impetus to the visitors, who roared back to steal a stunning winning thanks to goals in the final 16 minutes from Musa Juwara and Musa Barrow, either side of a red card for Inter's Alessandro Bastoni.

Conte, who spent close to an hour in the changing room with his side before talking to the media, could not hide his frustration and says his players should be angry at their display.

"The disappointment is enormous, at least as far as I'm concerned," he told reporters. "I hope this disappointment that I feel is also felt by the players for at least one per cent. 

"I am angry at myself because I'm the manager. I have my responsibilities; I am the one who directs the situation and it is right that I am very angry first of all with myself. Then I think that the players must also be with themselves."

The setback leaves Conte's side four points behind second-placed Lazio and just one ahead of Atalanta in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Conte is under no illusions that he is expected to win trophies at Inter and says he fully expects to be scrutinised when things do not go well.

"Situations are evaluated only by facing them," he added. 

"For me this is the first year of working with Inter and I have taken a situation with many situations to improve. At the same time, I also say that it is right to challenge everyone, me first. 

"I was brought here for a winning project and to bring Inter back to winning things. Clearly, the victory does not come overnight, but many situations leave a lot of bitterness. You think you are at a level and instead you are at a much lower level. 

"From here to the end we will all have to prove that we deserve Inter. Otherwise it is right to make other decisions too."

The outbreak of coronavirus in Italy forced four top-flight matches to be postponed over the weekend, including Sunday's clash between Scudetto hopefuls Inter and Sampdoria.

Italy's move came as part of preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 which originated in China, after two people died and dozens more reportedly tested positive.

Now, upcoming fixtures across Italy's leagues are in doubt, with Serie A leaders Juve scheduled to host Inter in Turin on March 1.

"I don't think that in just one week we'd be able to slow down the contagion so much that we could resume sporting events," Conte told Rai.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation and will evaluate. We'll see the evolution of the contagion and evaluate postponing all next week's matches."

Juve are a point clear atop the table following Saturday's 2-1 victory away at bottom side SPAL.

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 1,000th career appearance with a goal, scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flight match – matching a feat previously achieved by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.

In-form Lazio were also in action on Saturday and edged Genoa 3-2 to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 games, while Inter are six points off the pace with a game in hand.

Juventus had been staring at a first league defeat under Thiago Motta, having entered the final half-hour 2-0 down to their in-form visitors.

Dan Ndoye gave Bologna a deserved lead on the half-hour mark and they doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second half through Tommaso Pobega.

Teun Koopmeiners pulled one back for Juventus 10 minutes later and, with time running out, Mbangula struck from outside the area to snatch a last-gasp draw for the hosts.

Though they remain the only unbeaten side in the Italian top flight this campaign, Juve sit sixth with 27 points from 15 games, their nine draws keeping them seven adrift of leaders Atalanta.

Bologna, meanwhile, are still eighth but have moved level on 22 points with AC Milan, having played one game fewer than the Bianconeri.

Data Debrief: The kids are alright for Juve

Juventus' fans may have been frustrated by watching their side play out yet another stalemate in Turin, but things could have been far worse if not for Mbangula.

The Belgian forward wrapped his foot around Dusan Vlahovic's pass on the edge of the area, bending a cultured finish beyond the reach of visiting goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski in the second minute of stoppage time.

In Mbangula (who was born in 2004 and has two goals) and Kenan Yildiz (2005, three goals), Juve are the only team in Serie A to have multiple players born in 2004 or later with at least two goals this season.

The Bianconeri ran out 3-0 winners at the Allianz Stadium, clinching their first victory in all competitions since the end of August thanks to goals from Filip Kostic, Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik. 

The result arrested Juventus' slide into mid-table mediocrity in Serie A, although they remain four points adrift of the top four and seven shy of early-season leaders Napoli.

The difficulty of the challenge facing Juve is not lost on Allegri, who says his team need to avoid getting ahead of themselves in the coming weeks.

"We need to take it one step at a time, and hopefully, we can close the gap," he told DAZN. "We closed it last season, so [we know] we can do it again.

"We needed patience and focus to build the performance and get the result. I almost felt like we couldn't believe it when we got back to the locker room.

"It needs to be one small step at a time. We can't make up that difference all in one go. At this moment, we need clear and cool heads."

Kostic netted his first goal in club colours to round off a superb run from Vlahovic, who arguably delivered his best performance of the season in Turin.

Kostic said he would look to repay the favour by teeing up his fellow Serbia international in the future, stating: "I do a good job with Dusan, I thanked him for the assist and I hope I can give one back next time."

Atalanta top the standings on 34 points, two ahead of Antonio Conte's Napoli, with Inter and Fiorentina both one point further back on 31.

Reeling from Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen, Simone Inzaghi's side remain without injured defensive pillars Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard ahead of Monday's visit to his former club.

Inter's 573-minute run without conceding a goal in the Champions League ended when Nordi Mukiele scored for Leverkusen in the 90th minute on Tuesday.

That capped a miserable trip to Germany for Inter, who failed to record a single shot on target in a Champions League game for the first time since February 2022 (versus Liverpool), and for the first time on record (since 2003-04) in the competition's first round.

Lazio, meanwhile, have racked up consecutive victories over Napoli in league and cup, with the Biancocelesti facing Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday before returning to Serie A action.

Inter could be six points off the top by the time they take to the field for that headline fixture, with Atalanta targeting a piece of history at Cagliari on Saturday.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Dea side have won nine straight Serie A games to equal their club record, having also won nine in a row between February and July 2020. Another victory would make this their best-ever winning run in the competition.

This is only the second time that Atalanta have topped the table at the end of a Serie A matchday since the competition returned to 20 teams in 2004-05, having only managed to do so after the fifth matchday in 2022-23.

Until now, Atalanta had never led the top-flight table as many as 15 matches into a campaign.

They are big favourites to maintain their winning streak against 15th-placed Cagliari, with Gasperini having no new injury concerns. Giorgio Scalvini is out, having sustained a shoulder injury ahead of Tuesday's Champions League 3-2 loss to Real Madrid, while Gianluca Scamacca and Juan Cuadrado are longer-term absentees.

While both Inter and Atalanta were beaten in Europe this week, Juventus claimed a huge result by beating Manchester City 2-0, courtesy of goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie.

The Bianconeri's triumph came despite them only having 31% of possession – only once previously on record (since 2003-04) have they won a Champions League game while having a lower share of possession (27% versus Chelsea in September 2021).

In Serie A, however, it has been a case of possession without purpose for Juventus, who remain unbeaten but have drawn nine of their 15 matches, including each of their last three, to sit sixth.

"Nothing bothers me. I perfectly accept all honest judgements, but I won't enter this story," Juve coach Thiago Motta said, when asked about criticism of their domestic form.

"I am only focused on my work: improving the team and helping my players. The rest doesn’t count much."

With last-placed Venezia travelling to Turin on Saturday, Motta should be confident of maintaining the feel-good factor built in midweek. 

Juventus have dominated this fixture historically, winning 10 of their last 12 Serie A matches against the newly promoted side.

Surprise package Fiorentina, meanwhile, are riding high on an eight-match winning streak in Serie A, and they could make history when they travel to Bologna – led by former Viola boss Vincenzo Italiano – on Sunday.

Victory for Raffaele Palladino's visitors would set a new club record for successive victories in Serie A, overhauling their long-standing mark from 1960.

Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah were on target for Arne Slot's side, who maintained their perfect start to the league phase, having also beaten AC Milan 3-1 on matchday one.

The Reds broke through after just 11 minutes when Mac Allister timed his run perfectly to steer Salah's teasing cross beyond Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.

Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead six minutes later when Darwin Nunez fired home, only to be denied by the offside flag, while the woodwork thwarted Dan Ndoye at the other end.

The visitors looked to hit back after the break and went close in the 56th minute as Riccardo Orsolini forced a strong save from Alisson Becker, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday.

However, the hosts gave themselves breathing space - and eventually the three points - with a quarter of an hour remaining, when Salah brilliantly curled into Skorupski's far corner of the net.

Data Debrief: Salah makes more history as Reds continue to enjoy home comforts

In wrapping up the victory, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five successive home Champions League games.

The Egyptian is also only the third player to achieve the feat for a Premier League side, following in the footsteps of Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy (six).

Also assisting Mac Allister's opener, Salah has now been directly involved in 14 goals (eight goals, six assists) in his last 11 home European appearances, as many as in his 20 previous such games.

It helped Liverpool record their 11th straight group/league win at Anfield in major European competition, while they have now scored at least twice in each of their last 10 such games. 

Having teed up Alexis Mac Allister's opener at Anfield, Salah scored Liverpool's second to seal a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

In the process, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive home games in the European Cup/Champions League.

He is only the third player to score in five consecutive Champions League home games for a Premier League side, after Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United (six).

"Before [last week's EFL Cup win over West Ham], Mo played three games without scoring a goal," said Slot.

"So it is in football, it can happen that sometimes in three games, you score one or you don't score.

"But these players, like Mo, they will always score their goals if you just keep playing them."

Salah's contract expires at the end of this season and he has said this will be his last season at Anfield.

"Mo has done really well today, and I'm happy with the way he does at the moment, and I'm not looking forward to next season," Slot added.

The 46-year-old Dutchman, who replaced Jurgen Klopp, has become Liverpool's first head coach to win eight of their first nine games across all competitions.

His team have won their opening two in the Champions League to sit fifth in the 36-team table. They also top the Premier League.

Slot said: "I don't draw many conclusions from that, but it's nice. So many incredible managers have worked here, doing so many special things.

"The only thing is I hope it is not the only thing people remember me for in two or three years or however long I am here. If all they say is, 'that's the manager who won eight out of nine!'

"I'm hoping to do more special things than just win eight out of my first nine games.

"It also says how I have been left this club – the work rate the players put in, how the staff are helping me get these results."

Jota received a knock in the 2-1 Premier League win at Wolves on Saturday but is set to play instead of Federico Chiesa, who arrived at training on Tuesday with an injury.

The Italian winger joined Liverpool from Juventus in August and grabbed an assist in the 5-1 EFL Cup rout of West Ham but will miss out on facing familiar opponents on Wednesday.

"It's a shame for him because he was looking forward to a Champions League night at Anfield, especially because we face an Italian team," Slot told reporters of Chiesa.

"How long is he out? It's always difficult because it happened yesterday but I am not expecting him to be out for a very long period of time.

"We will see if he can be in the team for Saturday [a Premier League match at Crystal Palace]."

Liverpool are off to a strong start in Slot's first season in charge. They top the Premier League standings on 15 points, opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over Milan, and have booked their spot in the EFL Cup's last 16.

"One of the reasons we can compete is we have a lot of quality. We have a lot of cohesion in the team. Those who are not playing are happy with us scoring and winning so those are two really positive things," Slot added.

Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister had kind words for how well the Dutchman has done in filling the huge shoes left by former manager Jurgen Klopp.

"He's definitely an amazing manager. You can see how he's been from the first day," the Argentine said.

"We understand what he wants from us, and I think that's the main thing as a coach, to get the ideas in the players."

Liverpool are back in the Champions League after a one-year absence and Slot hopes to see the hunger reflected in his team on Wednesday.

"What I want from the players is them to show they missed this. I want to see this, I want to feel this," Slot said. "I am hoping it's the same from our fans. I hope they feel this desire to show Europe that you missed us."

The clubs and the league organisers met on Friday in an attempt to find alternative arrangements, after Bologna mayor Matteo Lepore had earlier announced that he had ordered the suspension of the match.

An agreement could not be reached, with solutions such as playing the game in Bologna behind closed doors or at a neutral stadium rejected, and the game has been postponed with a rescheduled date yet to be announced.

"The match is postponed because, with a decision that in my opinion is incomprehensible, the mayor has prohibited the match from being played even behind closed doors," Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni told reporters after the meeting.

The municipality of Bologna said in a statement that the match would bring around 35,000 people near the most critical area of the city, causing problems due to the presence of fans and traffic closure in the surrounding area.

With both clubs involved in the Champions League, finding a new date for the postponed game will prove difficult, and Milan will now be without Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders for Tuesday's match against leaders Napoli.

Both players were set to be suspended for the Bologna game, but will now serve their suspension in the next match instead.

Home side Monza will also wear special shirts bearing the message 'Come back soon, Pablo', ahead of their clash with the Rossoblu.

Mari, on loan to Monza from Arsenal, was one of five people injured in the incident near Milan on Thursday, in which a suspect was disarmed by onlookers and subsequently arrested.

A shop cashier named Luis Fernando Ruggieri died in the attack, and Monza have since sent condolences to his family.

Mari was visited in hospital by Monza chief executive Adriano Galliani and head coach Raffaele Palladino before undergoing back surgery on Friday.

The centre-back, who said he felt "lucky" to be alive after the attack in Assago, was discharged from hospital on Sunday and will reportedly be out of action for around three months.

Palladino revealed Monza originally considered requesting a postponement of Monday's match following the news, but then said the side were motivated to play, declaring: "Our duty is to play and go on the pitch and give everything for our team-mate."

Monza said in a statement on Sunday: "Before the kick-off of Monza-Bologna, a minute of silence will be observed at the U-Power Stadium to remember Luis Fernando Ruggieri, victim of Assago's insane attack.

"Furthermore, in the pre-match warm-up, the red and white players will wear a special T-shirt dedicated to Pablo Mari."