Gian Piero Gasperini explains why Thiago Motta’s tactical approach for Bologna ‘causes everyone problems’ and Atalanta need to work on their set-play deficiencies.
This was a huge opportunity for La Dea to get back into the race for the Champions League spots, but they were the latest team to be beaten at the Stadio Dall’Ara.
Lewis Ferguson rose to meet the late Riccardo Orsolini corner relatively undisturbed to decide the match at the back post, giving Bologna a sixth consecutive home victory.
“This is football, it happens. Bologna are in a great period of form, we played well and didn’t take our chances, then this goal was conceded on a corner,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“We’ve been on the losing end in these situations too many times, so evidently we have a problem defending on set plays and many of the points we dropped were in these scenarios.
“We have more corners in favour than against generally, so we ought to be better at this. Perhaps in a match situation, it’s not the same as in training.
“When games are in the balance, a dead-ball situation can make the difference. Just look at Roma, Juventus, Milan, they all use that kind of aerial power to find the breakthrough. We used to be good at it too, but recently we’ve been on the losing side of those battles and that penalises us.
“There were several good scoring opportunities today, but we must also look at the positive aspects, as it was a good performance. That only gives us even more regret to have lost.”
Thiago Motta was a midfielder at Gasperini’s Genoa, so there must also be some pride seeing him flourish as a coach.
“His approach is more about possession, he lifts the centre-backs playing out from the back and tries to create numerical superiority with their presence.
“It is not easy to play against Bologna because they have this way of controlling the game, but we did well to take it away from them for a while.
“We took away their greatest strength and built the performance towards a victory, only to then lose it on a dead-ball situation. Bologna cause everyone problems because of that tactical approach.”