Fabbian gives the three points to Motta and Bologna and punishes a willing and organized Empoli.
It was supposed to be Bologna’s maturity match: without Zirkzee, after a difficult defeat at home, away against an extremely organized team like Nicola’s Empoli. Motta’s men return to Emilia passed but not with full marks: the three points which are worth a large piece of Europe arrive at the end of a match in which the Bolognese dominate possession as usual but show off the usual offensive problems against a team that makes low blocking and space coverage its raison d’être. When it expires, however, it is still Fabian to untangle the mess and condemn an Empoli who perhaps he deserved a draw for the application and foresight demonstrated for almost all 90′.
The first half is all in all much more pleasant than we might have expected. The game develops thanks to Bologna’s offensive inertia, which seeks and obtains persistent and patient possession of the ball, it is Motta’s team who have the ball in their hands. In particular, he impresses when dribbling the ease of rotations and the quality of movements without the ball of Motta’s men. Lucumì (left-footed) alternates with Beukema on the right wing to offer an extra option when coming out from deep while Urbanski and Odgaard split the offensive reference work in the absence of Zirkzee. But the Dutchman’s absence elevates it to the nth degree the problem of offensive sterility of Bologna, who ended the first half at 0-0 despite a clear territorial dominance. 72% ball possession of the first 45′ rarely materializes in dangerous scoring actions and the fact that these come mainly from free kicks or from sudden verticalisations to exploit the Saelemaekers race says a lot about the unresolved issues of the rossoblù.
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The second half instead moves on different tracks. Nicola closes all possible and impossible spaces, managing to unfold well on the restarts and allowing very little depth to the Bolognese attacking midfielders. Motta’s team is tired and unable to have neither energy nor clarity to put into practice the same pressing and the same movements without the ball as in the first half. In fact, for almost half an hour, it is Empoli to create more scoring chances, leaving Bologna in control of an increasingly sterile possession. It is no coincidence that the game changes when Motta brings in fresh forces such as Castro, Fabbian and Aebischer who offer the dynamism necessary to become dangerous again. The Under 21 midfielder will take care of it to bring under the Towers three fundamental points for the race for Europe that counts, which takes the chestnuts out of the fire for a Motta who was perhaps too guilty in managing the substitutions and for Saelamaekers and Orsolini, previously the protagonists of two colossal errors in front of goal.
Overall Empoli he has very little to complain about. Of course, Caprile was definitely the best on the pitch for the Tuscans but for long stretches the Azzurri appeared capable of reining in Bologna thanks to excellent organization of the defensive phase and to the great work of the half wings. Nicola could even go so far as to regret the enormous scoring opportunity wasted by Niang at the end of the first half: the former AC Milan striker, despite the mistake, completes his evolution into centre-forward this evening and is the indispensable offensive point of reference and team vertical. After the goalkeeper owned by Napoli, he is the one who impresses the most Nicolò Cambiaghi. If Niang is the physical point of reference for Empoli, Cambiaghi is the soul, the beating heart of the team: the most important actions pass through his feet and the incredible quality of his plays testifies the goodness of growth of a player who today showed that he knows how to extricate himself even in the most difficult matches.
A dirty and ugly victory has arrived for Bologna, like those needed to achieve all great goals. But the Castellani match still leaves some behind too much unknown in the thoughts of Thiago Motta. That Zirkzee’s absence was practically unbridgeable was already clear enough on the eve of the match; this evening, however, Odgaard did not offer the same contribution that he manages to give as an attacking midfielder or as a winger and the experiment as a first striker cannot be considered satisfactory. Saelemaekers was instead the technical leader of the team, an undisputed point of reference and the only element of the attacking midfielder capable of giving electricity to the attack; but as in the case of Orsolini, the Belgian’s goals are also missing and overall not even his quantity can be a palliative for Bologna’s offensive problems. Motta will have two weeks to look for a solution that can ensure the Bolognese have an extra weapon for the final rush. In the meantime, however, he can enjoy an increasingly mature and decisive Fabbian.