The first victory of the season within the walls of the same Dall’Ara which in recent seasons has been the fort where Bologna had collected the most points has been postponed again. In the Emilian derby against Parma the rossoblù only achieved a draw intact, with the match ending at 0-0 despite the cards played by Italiano – who also fielded Karlsson in the second half – and the numerical superiority for over 40 minutes given by Coulibaly’s expulsion at the start of the second half.
Seven days into the season, Bologna has thus reached 8 points, with a gap of -2 compared to last season. A less than brilliant start for Vincenzo Italiano’s rossoblù who in the derby against the Crociati seemed to take a step back compared to what they showed first against Atalanta and then against Liverpool. The match against the English team in the midweek round of the Champions League could have further tired a team that yesterday appeared dull and lackluster, so much so that they never really managed to put the guests in difficulty, not even in 11 against 10.
The break thus comes at the right time. If it is true that as many as 10 players from Bologna will be busy with their respective national teams, it is equally true that almost two weeks to prepare for a match is a rare time, given the tight pace of the calendar which alternates championships and cups. Starting today the rossoblù will enjoy three days of rest before returning to work and “battling”, to use Italian terms, on that aspect of achievement which is still struggling to materialise.