Roma left the Dall'Ara with a 2-0 victory on Sunday, handing Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano's side a defeat that tightened the grip of a difficult campaign. Bologna forward Thijs Dallinga, 25, was part of a home side that could not answer Donyell Malen's contribution to Roma's win — a result that compounds what has been a modest season for the Dutch striker.
The so-what is straightforward: with Bologna sitting eighth on 48 points from 34 matches — a record of 14 wins, 6 draws and 14 defeats — the club is hovering precisely where the board wants it. Director Claudio Fenucci has publicly confirmed the club will continue with Italiano, and Italiano himself has acknowledged the target is eighth place. That is a managed ambition, not an ascending one, and it frames Dallinga's season accordingly.
Dallinga has registered 2 goals and 2 assists across 21 Serie A appearances this season, an average rating of 6.50 — numbers that describe a player present but not yet decisive. Four direct contributions in 21 matches is a rate that keeps a squad functional without driving it forward. His AI overall score of 50 out of a possible 100, against a potential ceiling of 62, suggests the analytical picture matches the eye test: a player with room to grow who has not yet found the conditions to do so.
Sunday's defeat to Roma — a side Roma's own press described as seeking revenge for a Europa League exit — arrived at a moment when Bologna's season had already settled into its final shape. Italiano admitted his side paid for errors and that the fans' frustration was justified. That candour is useful, but it does not change the arithmetic: 42 goals scored against 41 conceded across 34 matches is the profile of a team in equilibrium, not one building toward something.
For Dallinga, the remaining matches of 2025-26 are an opportunity to push his numbers closer to that 62-point potential ceiling before the summer assessment begins.