We begin this week’s piece with a message wishing AS Roma’s Ivorian defender Evan Ndicka a speedy recovery hoping we will get to watch him play this beautiful game soon. Ndicka had to be stretchered off the pitch in Udine during his team’s encounter against Udinese that was later on abandoned.
An official statement from AS Roma confirmed that Evan Ndicka was discharged and will undergo additional tests in Rome. Our thoughts as The Pitch View fraternity are with him and we hope that he comes back stronger.
Round 32 of the Serie A was quite dramatic as it registered EIGHT draws with eighth-placed Lazio and Lecce the only sides to walk away with maximum points in their respective fixtures. Our main focus however shifts to the Renato Dall’ara stadium where Thiago Motta’s Bologna welcomed Monza in a tactical battle between two young managers.
Two wins and three losses in their previous five games made this tie against the Rossoblu a tough fixture; seeking to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats in the league. Monza boss, Raffaele Palladino has lately been linked with a move to Bologna as Motta’s potential heir if he leaves at the end of the season and it was a great opportunity for him to showcase his tactical acumen. Having kept back-to-back cleansheets in their last three Serie A games, Bologna’s backline led by Colombian Jhon Lucumi faced a lesser challenge playing Monza with the away side failing to register a shot on target after 90 minutes.
It’s not Bologna’s backline that will be applauded but questions will be raised concerning their attack under the stewardship of Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee. The talisman had a tough evening finding it difficult to break Monza’s low block. Palladino’s men displayed a great shift of resilience, soaking in Bologna’s constant pressure while looking to catch them on the counter.
The tie however turned out to be an individual battle between Bologna’s Riccardo Orsolini and Monza’s shot-stopper Michele Di Gregorio. The 26-year-old made an outstanding SEVEN saves with more than three of them coming from Orsolini’s efforts. Monza forced Bologna to look for other alternatives in attack making them resort to set-pieces as their main source of chance creation.
Bologna’s Freuler missed out on a great opportunity to seal maximum points for his side in the final minutes making both teams settle on a barren draw and see Thiago Motta’s grip on the top four charge weakened. Raffaele Palladino on the other hand was the happier boss at full time as his plans to keep a cleansheet bore fruits getting a similar result to the reverse fixture back in September at the U-Power Stadium.
