Frosinone Bologna 0-0, the pressure plays bad tricks

Bologna, 7 April 2024 – Pressure plays a bad joke on Bologna. The pressure from Roma who, with the derby won, had once again come back to breathe on the necks of the rossoblù, minus two points. And the pressure of a Frosinone spirited and full of fury, fueled by the desperation of having to respond to Sassuolo and Empoli down there in the dangerous slums. Come back with a point, Thiago. A point that becomes very small when thinking about the incredible double chance that fell at the feet of Dan Ndoye in the 94th minute: from Ferguson's tower, the Swiss kicks from the six yard area, finding a miraculous Turati to deflect onto the crossbar, then from the ground he tries again, sending it very high the ball and taking it away from Freuler. An error that costs Bologna two points, in the context of a race for the Champions League that will be fought down to the last metre.

They dreamed of overtaking momentarily over Juventus in third place, the rossoblù and instead are now back to checking the rearview mirror with apprehension. Roma are back at -3, Atalanta can get to -5 with a game to recover. Next Saturday's match against Monza at the Dall'Ara becomes fundamental, a prelude to the Champions League play-off on 22 April at De Rossi's home.

And to think that he too was back from the 1st minute, Joshua Zirkzee: no flash from the Dutchman, just a forced and blocked shot in the 78th minute by Mazzitelli, just before handing the game off to Santiago Castro who became more dangerous in ten minutes from his teammate, with a pass on a cross from Lykogiannis which Turati was careful about (83'). It's one of the very few chances in a match in which the rossoblù struggle a lot. In the first half Frosinone's pressure is very strong, with Bologna struggling to play their football with their usual ease, but above all with a construction from the bottom that is severely put to the test: it is no coincidence that the first opportunity belongs to the hosts and that it arises precisely from a error by Calafiori in the back pass, with Skorupski coming out in desperation to close on Cheddira (9'). The Ciociari's forcing takes away the rossoblù's clarity, with Saelemaekers getting a yellow card that was as avoidable as it was heavy: he was warned by a booking and will miss next Saturday's match against Monza. In the second half Thiago send immediately Urbanski on the field for Saelemaekersi. The first good chance happens to Aebischer (21'), placed in front of Turati at Orsolini: but the Frosinone goalkeeper is providential with his feet. The rest is a battle more of muscles than of ideas, with the home team, however, frightening Skorupski from outside the air first with Zortea (among the best on the pitch), then with Mazzitelli. Thiago then plays his cards from the bench, a move that paid off in Empoli: Fabbian, Ndoye, Lykogiannis and Castro come on. And when it seems that once again Bologna will find the way to bring the victory home, here is Ndoye to devour the match-ball and make this Champions League sprint even more electrifying.

Thiago Motta: “Good performance, the ball didn't go in”

"We knew we had to find something new. In the end we have created at least 3 scoring opportunities and we didn't exploit them, but this is football. The important thing is to have arrived and kept a clean sheet. It was a complicated match but the boys were good, obviously I wanted the victory but the performance was good. Today the ball didn't go in but if we continue like this it will happen next time." He declared this to Sky. "Ndoye? There's work to be done, he's young and wants to do it. He fit in well in everything, from the language to the field. Each of them has certain characteristics, such as Orsolini knowing how to be cold in front of the goal. Ferguson too. Others have to work harder and better, but it doesn't worry me because they all have the desire and have an extraordinary future ahead. Urbanski, on the other hand, has the characteristics of a midfielder. In the last training session I missed Odgaard who can play on both sides. He has intelligence beyond his age, I'm talking about football intelligence and above-average technical quality. For me he can easily play as a winger" closed Motta.

The little table

FROSINONE-BOLOGNA 0-0

Frosinone Turati; Okoli, Romagnoli, Bonifazi; Zortea, Mazzitelli (40' st Garritano), Barrenechea, Valeri (21' st Lirola); Soule (40' st Cuni), Reinier (21' st Brescianini); Cheddira (34' st Seck). On the bench: Frattali, Ibrahimovic, Ghedjemis, Kvernadze, Baez, Kaio Jorge, Mateus Lusuardi, Cerofolini, Marchizza. Coach: Di Francesco 6

BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski 6.5; Posch 6, Lucumì 6.5, Calafiori 5.5, Kristiansen 5.5 (31'st Ndoye 5); Freuler 6, Aebischer 5 (23'st Fabbian 5.5); Orsolini 6 (31' st Lykogiannis 6), Ferguson 5, Saelemaekers 5 (1'st Urbanski 5); Zirkzee 5 (36'st Castro 6). On the bench: Ravaglia, Karlsson, De Silvestri, Ilic, Bagnolini, Moro, El Azzouzi, Corazza. Coach: Motta 6 REFEREE: Orsato di Schio 6.5 NOTES: Spectators approximately 13.000 with 1000 visiting fans. Booked: Saelemaekers, Romagnoli, Kristiansen, Lykogiannis. Corners: 5-2 for Frosinone. Recovery: 1'; 4'.