"We knew what Milan would do, Bologna deserves the trophy" - Italiano happy after victory in the final

Vincenzo Italiano admits that Bologna knew what Milan would do in the Coppa Italia final, underlining that they deserve to win the Coppa Italia. 

The Rossoblu had not played in a final for 51 years, winning the trophy in 1970 and 1974, and were not considered favourites tonight in Rome. 

However, Dan Ndoye scored the winning goal, while Lukasz Skorupski made two good saves in the first half, but otherwise there were no problems from Milan. 

This returns the trophy to Bologna, but also guarantees their qualification for the Europa League next season. 

"After a few disappointments, I think we deserved this, especially after playing a great game tonight. It was an outstanding performance, we knew once again what Milan would do in the second half, so we responded to them." 

"This extraordinary year has been crowned with this trophy, which these fans deserved," Italiano told Sport Mediaset. 

Italiano had reached three finals with Fiorentina in the space of two years, losing the Conference League twice and the Coppa Italia once. 

Read too Milan is left with nothing, Bologna wins the Italian Cup after 51 years of waiting

The Italian took over from Thiago Motta at Bologna and was not expected to do so well, but impressed in the Champions League and Serie A before lifting the Coppa Italia trophy. /Telegraph/