It wasn’t a great day for pre-season friendlies, as Bologna were beaten 1-0 by AZ Alkmaar, while Udinese lost 2-1 to Qatar.
The Serie A campaign is not scheduled to kick off until the weekend of August 13-14, so preparation is still a long way off from full match fitness.
Bologna looked rusty in their defeat to an AZ Alkmaar side who will participate in the Europa Conference League preliminary round.
Lukasz Skorupski made several big saves, while Marko Arnautovic and Musa Barrow had the only real chances for the Italians.
The only goal was scored just before half-time, with Myron van Brederode shaking off 16-year-old Wisdom Amey to set up Zico Buurmeester from close range.
Udinese played against the Qatari squad that will be hosting the 2022 World Cup in November and December.
Filip Benkovic gave away a penalty, converted by Moaz past goalkeeper Marco Silvestri.
After a tough save denied Sandi Lovric, Udinese equalised with the Benkovic towering header on a corner.
Qatar’s winner was a classic counter-attack sparked by Akram Afif to set up Homam.
Lucky there was 3 Italians on the filed
@Tony…
You are absolutely correct!
Honestly, if managers in other leagues, prefer to sign Italian talent, then they should do so.
For example, if Conte wants Tottenham to sign Zaniolo, and West Ham has already signed Scmacca, then they should go and ply their trade in the PL. Perhaps, sone of our Nazionale players could earn playing experience while also improving on their ability to create space and finishing techniques in the final third.
Hopefully, Donnarumma and Meret will improve their distribution, footwork and ball security, respectively after brong named 1st choice GKs for PSG and Napoli, respectively.
Thoughts?