Napoli were in crisis after three consecutive defeats to Como, Inter and Arsenal, but they managed to turn their fortunes around with a narrow win over Bologna. The Partenopei were also dealing with injuries, with Alex Meret and Alisson Santos joining Scott McTominay, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Giovane, Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci on the treatment table. Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour only got their first starts of the season against Arsenal, but remained in the lineup.
Bologna, on the other hand, were struggling to find their footing, scraping one point from three rounds and with coach Domenico Tedesco beginning a two-match touchline ban. The visitors were without several key players, including Artem Dovbyk, Riccardo Orsolini, Nadir Zortea and Oussama El Azzouzi, while Lukasz Skorupski was dropped for turning up late to a meeting, replaced by teenager Massimo Pessina.
The match was a closely contested affair, with both teams creating chances. Vergara nearly scored in the third minute, while Bologna had the ball in the net on seven minutes, but his header was disallowed for offside. De Bruyne turned over from the edge of the area on a Leonardo Spinazzola roll across, and Rasmus Hojlund's diving header skimming an open goal on the Matteo Politano cross was a highlight of the match.