Match Analysis: Bologna & Toulouse Record Overdue Away Wins

WhoScored’s weekly round-up of those significant streaks that have come to an end across Europe’s elite leagues focuses on Serie A and Ligue 1 this time round. Over in Italy, Inter’s season continues to disappoint, as Bologna swept aside Claudio Ranieri’s side 3-0 at the San Siro to win on the road for the first time in seven attempts, while in France, Toulouse picked up their first away victory in nine attempts against struggling Nancy.

Ruthless Di Vaio Adds to Inter’s Woes - Match Centre

Having lost at home to Novara last week, Inter were afforded a chance to bounce back, as travel-sick Bologna made their way to the San Siro. With just 4 points from their previous 6 away games, the visitors offered Ranieri’s side hope but the hosts continued their own run of dire form, falling to a 3-0 defeat.

Inter had the majority of possession (55%) and dominated the pitch, with 34% of the play in their opponents’ final third. As the Player Position map indicates, Maicon (17) bombed forward from right-back to support the attack throughout and the Brazilian made the most passes, with 60. He was far from effective with his distribution though, making just 1 key pass and, despite attempting 6 crosses, poor delivery from the flank meant only 1 was accurate.

Wesley Sneijder can perhaps be exempt from criticism. Tucked in behind Giampaolo Pazzini in a 4-2-3-1, the Dutchman made 58 passes, producing 6 key passes, 2 successful dribbles and a couple of shots - he was the only Inter player who rated more than 7 in the WhoScored rankings. His creativity is put into context here when you consider Bologna made 6 key passes all game, with the rest of the Inter side managing 5 between them.

The match was a hard-fought affair, with a total of 62 tackles; Inter just edged it by 32 to 30. With Bologna sitting deeper and preferring to hit on the counter, playing 71 long balls, the Inter central defensive duo of Lucio and Andrea Ranocchia made 12 tackles and 7 interceptions between them. Gabi Mudingayi stood out for the visitors, with 7 tackles and an interception, though the work-rate was spread across each side; 6 of Inter’s starting outfield 10 made 2 or more tackles, compared to 8 of Bologna’s.

In terms of goal threat, Inter managed 15 shots to Bologna’s 10. The home side had 5 on target, with the visitors managing 4 in comparison. Inter had efforts from all over the park - six players had 2 or more shots, with Maicon’s 3 the most. Only 3 Bologna players had more than a single effort but the main difference between the sides proved to be Marco Di Viao; the man of the match had 3 efforts and scored with both of his shots on target as the visitors extended their unbeaten run to 6 matches and climbed to 16th in the table.

Capoue the Key for Toulouse - Match Centre

Having failed to win away since the second week in September, Toulouse were perhaps underdogs going into the match at Nancy. The home side, however, were in equally unimpressive form; Nancy had picked up just 2 wins in front of their own fans all season and were simply swept aside by their visitors on Saturday evening.

Set up in a 4-5-1 formation, Toulouse completely bossed the game with 58% possession. Etienne Capoue, playing in left-central midfield, made an incredible 97 passes, with all 11 long balls he played proving successful.

As the Player Position map (above) shows, the away side pushed forward on the left flank throughout – the attacking positions of winger Paulo Machado (5) and left-back Cheikh M'Bengue (12) are indicative of the fact that 51% of play came down this side of the pitch. Machado was largely disappointing, though; all 4 of his shots were off target and he lost possession 8 times. In terms of creating goal scoring opportunities, no player stood out from either side - only five players (four from Toulouse, one from Nancy) made more than a single key pass, with 2 being the most anyone could muster.

Nancy made the most tackles, by 25 to 22. Their central midfield pair of Thomas Mangani and Salif Sani made 7 tackles and 11 interceptions between them, though for the visitors, Capoue once again stood head and shoulders above the rest. His 5 tackles and 11 interceptions, combined with the above-mentioned passing stats, helped him to the WhoScored man of the match award, with a rating of 8.52. The visitors’ right-back, Serge Aurier, also impressed, with 6 tackles and 4 interceptions helping his side to a clean sheet.

Toulouse’s domination was again highlighted by each side’s shot count; Nancy managed just 9 to their visitors’ 17, with 8 of these coming from set-pieces. Nancy have struggled for goals this term - scoring only 22 times - and their wayward shooting continued, with only 3 efforts on target. Toulouse had just 4 shots on target but still managed to find the net 3 times - Adrien Regattin, Pantxi Sirieix and Emmanuel Riviere grabbed a goal each, with the first two also providing an assist apiece in a comfortable 3-0 stroll.