A deluge of rain throughout the afternoon in Northern Italy had put the fixture in doubt, with the game getting underway despite standing water on the pitch.
The surface did not seem to hamper either team though, with the hosts having the first real chance through Tommaso Pobega, who saw an angled, thunderbolt of an effort from 20 yards saved.
They then saw a penalty, originally awarded for a foul on Ndoye by Karol Linetty, chalked off following VAR intervention, but finally took the lead in the 20th minute when the forward squeezed home from a tight angle after bursting onto Pobega’s inch-perfect pass.
That seemed to finally wake up Il Toro, who saw a Ché Adams chance saved, shortly before another chance went begging when Yann Karamoh slipped on the sodden turf as he ran onto the striker’s unselfish pass.
The equaliser was just around the corner though, delivered by Nikola Vlašić, who spun in the penalty area and sprayed into the top corner following another counter-attack. That was the first time Vincenzo Italiano’s side had conceded in over five hours, and once breached, they looked fallible.
Adams missed another huge opening before the break, but after half time, Bologna wrestled back control. First, Ndoye was thwarted by Vanja Milinković-Savić, before climbing highest at the back post to head a deep cross over the bar.
Those missed chances came back to bite them as Paolo Vanoli’s side went ahead for the first time just after the hour mark through Elif Elmas, who gloriously rode one tackle in the box by delicately clipping the ball over the diving defender, before emphatically finding the back of the net.
There were still plenty of turns to come in this topsy-turvy game though. The Veltri finally got their penalty minutes later when Pobega was scythed down in the area, allowing Ndoye the chance to equalise as he tucked into the bottom corner past the goalkeeper’s outstretched dive.
The Swiss international, seeking a first career hat-trick, soon clipped another striker wide as he came close to a third, while Adams had a piledriver tipped over the bar at the other end.
That was a rare break forward for Torino, who were trying to make it six games unbeaten on the road for the first time since May 2023.
However, their hearts were broken late on when, after Remo Freuler had missed a glorious chance for Bologna, Cristiano Biraghi inadvertently passed the ball into his own net after Santiago Castro’s initial strike had been blocked.
That strike sealed all three points for the hosts, who snatch a sixth home win in the league this season.