Lewis Ferguson shows Man City what they are missing as he blows £60m man out the water in Coppa Italia triumph

The Bologna captain was superb in the 1-0 win over AC Milan in the final at the Stadio Olimpico

Lewis Ferguson became just the second Scottish player ever to lift the Coppa Italia - and Pep Guardiola would be wise to take notice.

The Bologna captain and Scotland international was the outstanding midfielder in the final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Swiss teammate Dan Ndoye scored the only goal of the night as Vicenzo Italiano's men held firm to seal their first Italian cup since 1974.

The former Aberdeen star was a man complete as he lifted the trophy, something a man from these shores has not done since Graeme Souness did with Sampdoria in 1985.

Bologna gave a special shout out to their skipper: "The second ever Scot to lift the Coppa Italia. The boy from Hamilton, our skipper Lewis Ferguson. What a player."

A beaming Ferguson himself said: “I have no words, it’s incredible. It’s a beautiful evening, we made history with our wonderful fans who always follow us.

“This cup is for them but also for the staff and for us players who give everything every day. There was a lot of emotion before the match, it’s normal before facing a strong team with dangerous players.

“However, we were dominant. In the first half we had a lot of possession and in the second half the goal came. Then we went on the defence and the victory arrived.”

And if there were any doubts about Ferguson's qualities just ask Manchester City target and AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutchman is a £60m target for Pep Guardiola's summer revolution and could be the first piece of the puzzle to replace Kevin De Bruyne.

But the Hamilton man had his number. The Scotland international beat Reijnders in almost every department in touches (80 to 54), passes (65 to 40), successful long passes (4 to 2), tackles won (2 to none) and duels won (6 to none). Ferguson also registered two shots to Reijnders' none.

And yet the ex Aberdeen maestro is priced at half the transfer fee of Reijnders with Napoli and AC Milan reportedly keen on putting in a bid. Perhaps Pep should reconsider.

It could be the first of two major Scottish football achievements in Italy as Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour close in on Serie A glory under Antonio Conte.

Meanwhile, Ferguson received a reprieve from his rivals after some tasty challenges on the night.

He received a booking in the first half after his sliding tackle took out Rafael Leao, and he got bloodied nose from a trailing leg.

Many Milan players were calling for a red card, and again later on when he and Christian Pulisic fell to the floor with the ex Chelsea star bearing down on goal.

Ferguson remained on the pitch but AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao was not using any of the refereeing decisions as an excuse for the defeat.

"I don’t want to seek alibis with the referee, there were two or three controversial situations, but I don’t want to make them seem like excuses," Conceicao told Sport Mediaset.

"We should’ve done more. We won the Supercoppa, we got all the way in the Coppa Italia, now we will try to end this season with dignity.

“There is another important game coming up in this stadium against Roma on Sunday.

"I am sorry for the fans who were so enthusiastic, it was a disappointment for everyone.

"We could’ve done more, but these are balanced encounters, they are decided by details, so they scored and we did not.”