May 11 – 7.37pm
Toro does everything to block Bologna, but does too little to worry them
Even on the day before the commemoration of the Grande Torino, the Granata were unable to score and therefore not even win. The match against Bologna is the fourth in a row in which Toro fails to find the net, this is the ninth 0-0 of the season.
These are certainly not numbers that should make us proud, because if on the one hand there is a solid and impeccable defensive phase, on the other there is a team that struggles to create opportunities, to score, to rejoice. Bologna had to deal with the absences of the suspended Beukema and the injured Ferguson: the 4-3-3 deployed by Thiago Motta is very fluid and aims to disturb the Granata’s man-marking.
Toro returns to 3-4-1-2 with Vlasic (even if he has to come off due to injury in the 28th minute) behind Zapata and Sanabria; Vojvoda and Masina also return to the field.
Bologna’s rotations and Toro’s markings
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One of the most fluid teams in rotations, and therefore the most difficult for Toro to face, is certainly Bologna. The granata’s plan was to mark every reference across the pitch, even if at times there were forced marking changes in some areas of the pitch.
We saw the most frequent rotations between full-backs and midfielders, who had the task of moving the first pressure from the team in order to free up space behind them. It was not uncommon to see one of the two central defenders overlap in midfield, but much more often the full-backs were centralized: in this case we see that Kristiansen centralizes, Posch rises, while Freuler and Aebischer lower themselves into the hypothetical position they should cover the full backs.
This creates space in midfield as Vlasic and Ricci open up to mark, but in this case Bellanova is also good at closing.
In this situation Posch finds himself inside the field and Freuler opens up on the right unmarked, as Vlasic takes care of covering the center.
This is a situation where you can’t see it, but Toro had difficulty in scoring: Rodriguez is the most advanced man, the left wing is free, Vlasic has to climb, but at the same time cover the central passing lines. On the bank following a long pass, Freuler receives the ball and finds himself in the opponent’s half of the pitch with the ball exposed. In the opposing camp, the Emilians have retained the relational approach that has distinguished them throughout the season, because if in the construction phase Bologna’s principles are predominantly positional, in the last 30 meters there is more freedom of movement and interpretation of the game.
Here we even see seven players who are overloading the right side of the pitch: this could apparently create congestion, but during the season Bologna have shown that they know how to play in traffic, thanks to the technical quality they have.
In this match however, the guests struggled to find spaces, given that Toro compacted well in their own half of the pitch, in the previous image we even see all the players below the line of the ball. In fact, 60% of Bologna’s conclusions came from outside
area, proving to be not very dangerous.
The movements on the chains and the direct construction
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As usual, the Granata try to develop the game along the flanks, forming lateral chains that require their opponents to break up and allow large spaces. Firstly we see that in the 3+2 construction, the two midfield interiors are very open,
since they are ready to aggregate to their respective side chains. Bologna did not lose their composure and man-marked, with the wingers tasked with moving between the arm and the fifth.
42% of the actions were developed on the left side of the field, where Toro mainly opted for the long raise. Direct construction, as we know, is a constant in Juric’s game and in certain cases can prove effective.
On the left the key was the maximum width provided by Rodriguez, which attracted the attention of Posch, who left Zapata several times in one-on-ones with Lucumí.
The definitive opportunity comes from a similar situation: Posch opens up to mark Rodriguez, while Zapata remains central, then the left half space is freed up, fleetingly attacked by Ilic. The Serbian, after reaching the back, will put an excellent cross for Sanabria, who will hit the crossbar.
On the right it was more convenient to build density, given that Kristiansen allowed Bellanova little depth. Sanabria often lowered himself to move the ball with Vojvoda, Bellanova and Ricci, attracting Bologna into that area: Vlasic’s role was to free himself to receive the pass and change play.
Bologna’s changes in the second half
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In the second half, Bologna tried more often to empty the midfield so that it was occupied by Saelemaekers, who played in a much more internal position than Ndoye. In this case we see that Fabbian opens up, Freuler and Aebischer get up and a space is created in midfield which is occupied by the Belgian winger.
To try to change the game, Thiago Motta changed the entire attacking block. The two midfielders Aebischer and Fabbian left the pitch in place of El Azzouzi and Moro, while up front Saelemaekers, Zirkzee and Ndoye gave way to Odgaard, Castro and Orsolini. In the final, Bologna, reinvigorated by the new arrivals, increased the intensity of the pressure, sending Torino into difficulty. On a couple of occasions the Granata riskily lost control of the ball, giving the rossoblù two opportunities to win the match.
The truth is that no one clearly prevailed over the other: Toro kicked a few more times, eating up the few dangerous opportunities it had created, while Bologna, also affected by absences, suffered a little more from defensive solidity opponent.
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May 11 – 7.37pm
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