Mihajlovic blames large number of absences for Bologna’s loss

Sinisa Mihajlovic pointed to the large number of absences following Bologna’s 2-1 loss to Hellas Verona tonight.

The Rossoblu took the lead early on thanks to a lovely half-volley from Riccardo Orsolini, but Gianluca Caprari found an equaliser in the 38th minute. Nikola Kalinic found a late winner for the Gialloblu, leaving the Emilian side incredibly disappointed at full time.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports after the 2-1 loss to Hellas Verona, Mihajlovic first reacted to the defeat.

“We did what we could. We had 10 absentees, among the 11 starters we had players at 50%. I can’t say anything to the guys, they fought and battled. Verona would have won on points but it’s a shame to lose, like in Cagliari, in the final.

“We’ll stay calm, the break comes at the right time. We had our last full training session on December 15, when it’s like this you lose games in the long run.”

The Serbian coach did not feel like his squad were performing worse than they were last year.

“I wouldn’t look at the last three games played. These were conditioned by the COVID situation. I’m convinced that in Cagliari, with a full squad, we would never have lost. When Bologna are missing 10 players it becomes almost impossible.

“The season is still long, luckily we have 27 points and now we’ll try to recover players and train during the break. I’m convinced we’ll get out of trouble. When we had everyone available we did very good things.”

He was impressed with Riccardo Orsolini’s performance and had kind words for Mattias Svanberg.

“Orsolini did what he had to do. He played with an injection for a shoulder problem. He is someone who has always scored goals, he knows how to do it.

“He’s always done well when he plays second fiddle. Svamberg did well, he fought. A player with his qualities could have handled the ball better, but he had the right attitude.”

Finally, Mihajlovic discussed his decision to leave Marko Arnautovic on the bench at the start of the match.

‘He wasn’t well, he wasn’t well in the previous game either. I spoke to him yesterday and he told me he wasn’t in condition to play a whole game. Now he has to recover and get well, he always has some aches and pains.”

Bologna’s loss means that they sit 13th in the Serie A table after 22 games, 11 points ahead of relegation candidates Cagliari.