Italiano: ‘Defeat to Juventus does not diminish Bologna’ | OneFootball

Vincenzo Italiano insists the defeat to Juventus ‘does not diminish’ Bologna and their campaign, as they couldn’t recover from the double whammy of goal and red card.

The Rossoblu have really hit problems in Serie A during recent weeks, as this was their second consecutive home defeat after the 3-1 to Cremonese, and they have just one point from the last three rounds.

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It was a free header from Juan Cabal on a short corner that proved decisive, followed five minutes later by the red card for Torbjorn Heggem as he brought down Lois Openda.

Italiano recognises Bologna strengths and weaknesses

BOLOGNA, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, looks on the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Juventus FC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

“We were up against a strong opponent that found itself ready in the big moments, with the physicality of Thuram, the experience of Locatelli, the dynamism of Cambiaso and McKennie,” Italiano told DAZN Italia.

“In my view we were in the thick of the game, we created chances and lost it on a set play. We then made life complicated for ourselves with the red card, but we were right in it up until then.”

There were some defensive weaknesses on show, not just on the corner for the goal, but also struggling with long balls over the top.

BOLOGNA, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, greets Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, prior to the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Juventus FC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

“We should’ve been a bit quicker to isolate Cambiaghi and Orsolini on the wings, but when you are too slow to create those overlaps, McKennie and Cambiaso get back to make it a five-man defence.

“As for the long ball, we can struggle at times, but Heggem got the ball stuck under his feet and wasn’t aggressive enough to clear, so he ended up running into the player. We made too many mistakes overall, a few too many touches and passes,” continued Italiano.

“It can happen when you’ve had this many games, we arrived home on Friday at 5am and had only one training session to prepare. That’s not an alibi, because we had that other times and won, but just being in the game for so long I think was good.

“All those who played on Thursday were struggling, because it was raining so hard in Vigo and the pitch was very heavy, so I had to rotate and preferred to start those who were at 100 per cent.”

BOLOGNA, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Lois Openda of Juventus is challenged by Emil Holm of Bologna during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Juventus FC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Bologna did manage to give their Europa League prospects a significant boost on Thursday with a 2-1 victory away to Celta Vigo, but despite squad rotation this evening, they seemed to lack sharpness.

“We perhaps weren’t as precise as usual, but Juve deserve credit for making us struggle and run hard tonight. Perhaps with these three big games one after another, some fatigue set in, but this result does not diminish the team at all,” added Italiano.

“We’re disappointed to have lost this evening, but we lost against a Juventus side who will challenge for the top spots this season and our journey continues. We are in the Supercoppa Italiana next week and we must be proud of that.”

BOLOGNA, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Torbjorn Heggem of Bologna leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Juventus FC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Now Italiano will travel to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa Italiana, where they take on Inter in the semi-final, as they are the Coppa Italia holders and will therefore face the runners-up of the Scudetto.

The other semi-final is between Napoli and AC Milan, with the two winners going head-to-head on December 22.