Orsolini: ‘Legendary night for Bologna in Liverpool’ | OneFootball

Riccardo Orsolini insists it remains ‘a legendary night for Bologna’ even if they lost 2-0 to Liverpool, as they ‘showed hunger and pride’ at Anfield in the Champions League.

Only once before in their history had this club qualified for the European Cup, for one round in the 1960s, and had not been in European competition for 22 years.

“There is a lot of pride and also emotion,” Orsolini told Sky Sport Italia on the hallowed turf of Anfield.

“You can win and lose in football, but as we say, the important thing is to play our football. It is not easy for any team in the world to come here, let alone a club like ours. We showed hunger and pride, so that makes it a less bitter defeat for us.”

Orsolini and Bologna will always remember Anfield

Liverpool took the lead through Alexis Mac Allister when Mohamed Salah floated a ball to the back post, then the Egyptian former Roma star scored the second himself with a curler into the far top corner from outside the area.

“We tried to show character and hunger, even if we made mistakes, and created lots of scoring opportunities. We hit the upright and the crossbar. Posch even accidentally made a goal-line clearance on my finish, that was so unlucky!

“Ah well, these things happen, the important thing is that we came here with humility and courage.”

That incident saw Orsolini meet a free kick at the back post and try to score from the tightest of angles, but teammate Stefan Posch found himself in the way as he had come sliding in.

While Thiago Motta was focused on playing out from the back and using the goalkeeper as a form of sweeper, Vincenzo Italiano is looking for a more direct approach.

“The coach asked us to seek the strikers and it was not easy to do that here, but we tried it anyway. When you play this way, there are risks and responsibilities, but we wanted to take that approach.

“No matter the result, it remains a legendary night for Bologna.”