Vincenzo Italiano wants Bologna to be more decisive in front of goal when they face Aston Villa in the Europa League quarter-final, aiming to ensure the match is anything but a comfortable evening for their opponents.
The first leg saw Bologna suffer a 3-1 defeat at home, despite a performance that arguably merited a better outcome. Heading into the second leg at Villa Park, Italiano acknowledged the difficult situation but emphasized the need for his team to play with courage and intensity.
“It’s a fantastic environment, the team is strong, I expect a different match to the one that we saw on Thursday, but we’ll play our cards,” Italiano stated. “The important thing is to match their intensity, try to cause problems for them when we’ve got the ball, and we’ll see what happens.”
Reflecting on Bologna’s Europa League campaign, where they have only lost twice, both against Aston Villa, Italiano highlighted the importance of ball retention and quality in attack. “We must try to keep the ball, as Aston Villa let you keep it for a bit, and we need to attack with everyone we can get into the box, also be wary when we lose the ball, and be more clinical in front of goal than we were in our last two trips here.”
Despite facing suspensions and injuries, including the absence of Jhon Lucumi, Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga, and Benjamin Dominguez, Bologna will welcome back Martin Vitik from his ban. Italiano anticipates Aston Villa will maintain their usual approach, bolstered by their two-goal advantage.
“Aston Villa will have their usual approach, they even have a two-goal advantage, so will be the same as the previous meetings. When we defend, we’ve got to defend well, but above all must prove that we can hurt them when we’ve got the chance. I believe we can do that.”
Italiano also confirmed he has attacking options from the bench, including Odgaard, Sohm, Pobega, Cambiaghi, and Orsolini, and will assess the game’s flow to make substitutions. His primary objective is to see his team display maximum desire to disrupt Aston Villa and leave with their heads held high, regardless of the result. “I want to see the maximum desire to cause them problems, to ensure this isn’t a comfortable night for them, try to improve the result and leave here with our heads held high. I think courage is the right word, what we need in this stadium and against this opponent.”
He concluded with confidence in his players’ ability to rise to the occasion: “These lads always bring out something extra at the crucial moments, and I believe they’ll do it again tonight.”