Serie A 2019/20: Bologna vs Napoli – tactical analysis

This game of Serie A, saw Bologna host Napoli on 15^th July 2020. Bologna resumed their campaign after league restart with a 2-0 loss to Serie A title favourites Juventus, while Napoli’s first game after the restart ended in a 2-0 win away to Verona. Since their respective restarts, Bologna have won, drawn and lost two games each; while Napoli have won four, drawn and lost one each. The reverse fixture, played back in December 2019, went to Bologna, 2-1, as they beat Napoli away from home. Napoli have all but lost hopes of Champions League qualification, but have already qualified for the Europa league courtesy their cup win. For Bologna, a win would mean they consolidate their mid-table position. This tactical analysis brings to light the tactics and plays that both the teams applied in the game.

The fixture was a 1-1 draw, with both teams going all out in the contest. Napoli were arguably the better team in the first half, creating a host of chances and shots. They got four out of their five shots on target in the first half, and kept Bologna from getting any shots on target at all. The second half saw a resurgent Bologna side, who from the restart were better than a surprisingly dull Napoli. Despite two of their previous goals being ruled out for offside by VAR, Bologna kept pushing and got one in the 80th minute to equalise. This analysis aims to highlight a few of the tactics deployed by both teams in the game.

Line-ups

Siniša Mihajlović based his tactics in his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, that he has favoured for over 55% of Bolognas games. Łukasz Skorupski started in goal with a back four of Ibrahima Mbaye, Danilo, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ladislav Krejčí. Nicolás Domínguez and Gary Medel played in the midfield. Andreas Olsen, Roberto Soriano and Musa Barrow took up playmaking positions behind sole striker Rodrigo Palacio.

Gennaro Gattuso set his game tactics in a 4-1-4-1, a formation that Napoli has played the least amount of time in. Gattuso made as many as 6 changes from the last game, and presumably, this switch in tactics was to accommodate the changes. Alex Meret started in goal with a back four of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kostas Manolas, Nikola Maksimović and Elseid Hysaj. Elif Elmas, Diego Demme and Piotr Zieliński started in a midfield three. Matteo Politano, Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving Lozano played as the front three for Napoli.

Bologna: defensive fluidity

This section of the tactical analysis looks at the defensive shape, or lack thereof, adopted by Bologna. All football games see both sets of teams take two shapes in course of the game: attacking shape when they are in possession of the ball, and defensive shape when they are not in possession of the ball. While some managers and teams allow absolutely no room to alter this shape in the game, there are some teams which are slightly more flexible with the shape. This structured shape approach is even more rigid when teams are out of possession and defending, while in attack a certain degree of flexibility is believed to add creativity and unpredictability to the gameplay. Bologna in the first 45 minutes of the game, played or were forced to play, a seldom attempted flexible defensive shape approach. While the degree of flexibility wasnt as much as in-possession tactics would have, it was certainly enough to cause disturbances to Napolis build-up play. On the flip side, it can also be said that Napoli forced the fluidity upon Bologna to disturb the shape. The below analysis depicts some instances where this approach was on display. The analysis highlights how the Napoli forwards were able to draw their defensive counterpart out of position, thereby causing a shift in positions for the Bologna team. While the Napoli forwards did their jobs well, equal credit will also have to be given to Bologna for holding shape despite the constant tease.

Below is an analysis of an instance from the game when Lozano was able to draw out Mbaye from his position on right back. Mbaye followed Lozano to press and win the ball, but in his pursuit left the position at right-back open. Olsen sensing this shift, immediately switches his position from the middle to the right-back position vacated by Mbaye. Thereby, maintaining the back four shape as per their tactics.