Lazio 1-1 Bologna – Italiano ‘happy with the point’ despite late red card opportunity

Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano insisted he was satisfied with a point at the Stadio Olimpico, even though his side played the final stages with an extra man in the 1-1 draw against Lazio.

The Rossoblù had come through a turbulent opening, falling behind to Gustav Isaksen before eventually equalising and then seeing the hosts reduced to 10 men when Gila was sent off with 12 minutes plus stoppage time still to play.

Despite that numerical advantage, Bologna struggled to force the winner. Italiano acknowledged the frustration but argued the context matters.

“Could we have done more at the end in 11 against 10? I’m happy with the point,” he said on Sky Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb.

“Lazio are improving a lot, they’re playing very well and with great confidence. We got ourselves back into it. After Isaksen’s goal, we were down to 10 and it wasn’t clear what was happening. We couldn’t make the difference at the end, even with fresh legs, but I’ll take the point.”

The coach highlighted the response shown since their Coppa Italia setback and stressed the bigger picture as a demanding schedule continues.

“We add a point to the table. We reacted in the Coppa Italia and again today. Now we play Celta Vigo on Thursday, then Juventus and the Supercoppa. I’m happy with the boys, the table looks lovely,” he added.

Italiano also reflected on the recent home defeat to Cremonese, admitting the team were the architects of their own problems.

“That match started badly, defensive errors we hadn’t made for a long time conditioned us,” he said. “The performance was there, but the key is staying a team. If you fall apart, that’s worrying.”

With just 72 hours between games, rotation was unavoidable. “Seventy-two hours is too little after such an energy drain,” he noted, explaining the decisions behind several changes. “We lacked something in attack, but Rowe and Bernardeschi could’ve given us more when they came on. It happens, it’s not easy. But I’m satisfied. We’re in a good place.”