Vincenzo Italiano acknowledged that Bologna’s “season is basically over now” following their 2-0 loss to Juventus. However, he expressed frustration that the team “had no time to prepare” for the match due to their Europa League commitments with Aston Villa.
The Rossoblu experienced a difficult week, suffering a comprehensive 4-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Europa League quarter-finals, resulting in a 7-1 aggregate loss.
Their performance in Turin also began poorly, conceding a goal within the first 90 seconds to Jonathan David’s glancing header. This was a notable occurrence, as Bologna had not conceded a Serie A goal before halftime since their match against Milan in February.
Khephren Thuram added a second goal, also with a header, while Emil Holm and Jonathan Rowe struck the woodwork.
Italiano’s Calendar Concerns
“The performance was due to facing a strong team that had a week to prepare every detail,” Italiano told DAZN Italia. “It’s not an excuse, but a fact that we got off the plane on Friday evening and had to travel again immediately, meaning we practically haven’t trained. This has been the situation all year.”
“We conceded very early today because we were too stretched and lacked the right formation, but we made adjustments at halftime and conceded less. We created some chances, but I believe that early goal made it an uphill battle.”
“It’s tough not being able to prepare for matches because there’s simply no time, especially against a team that had a full week to focus solely on their plan.”
Bologna appeared fatigued and stretched thin by their midweek schedule. The situation was further compounded by an injury to Federico Bernardeschi, forcing them to finish the game with ten men after all substitutions had been made.
“I told Bernardeschi it was my fault for introducing him, seeing how the Juve fans applauded him before kickoff and thinking it would be a nice moment for him to receive a tribute. Santiago Castro was also tired, but unfortunately, Fede had just returned to fitness, and I don’t think we’ll see him again for the rest of the season,” said Italiano.
“There are always areas for improvement. The season is basically finished for us now, so we must use these remaining games to improve and grow. We had aimed to still be competing for something significant in April, and we achieved that, even though we dropped Serie A points to balance it out.”
“Now, we have no idea what the future holds, but we must try to secure as many points as possible.”
Bologna faces a challenging end to the season, with upcoming matches against Roma, Cagliari, Napoli, Atalanta, and Inter.
“We wanted to be more aggressive with our midfielders today rather than our defenders, but we weren’t accustomed to it, so we’ll work on that. As I mentioned, we met the targets we set for this season, and it’s a shame that the only games we lost in the Europa League were against Aston Villa, who I believe can win the trophy.”
“We’ll try some tactical experiments, test some new players, and aim to at least secure eighth place.”
