With Fiorentina’s fortunes seemingly on the up following back to back wins over Siena and Udinese, normal service would appear to have been resumed by Delio Rossi’s beleaguered side, after two defeats in the space of four days.
If fans of the Viola were being brutally honest, the 3-0 mauling at the hands of a far superior Napoli side on Friday night could almost be forgiven, particularly in light of how the Partenopei so thrillingly dismantled Chelsea in the Champions League just days later.
However, Tuesday night’s meek surrender to relegation threatened Bologna was arguably a new low in an increasingly abysmal season.
In the wake of the defeat to Napoli, Rossi spoke of a need to improve defensively, telling Il Corriere dello Sport: “In the second half I had two or three players who were not good enough, but that is not an excuse.
“Even with nine men behind the ball we gave away clear goal scoring opportunities. We have not done well defensively, which until now had been a strong point for us.”
However, though Rossi can clearly see the problems inherent in his side, solving them is an entirely different matter.
True, Bologna went into Tuesday night’s match on the back of an impressive win against Inter at the San Siro, and were unbeaten in their last six in Serie A, but it was the manner of the defeat that will give Rossi the greatest cause for concern.
Alessandro Diamanti’s opener on the half hour mark saw the Viola offering a lesson in how not to defend, as the gaping hole left by Cesare Natali and Alessandro Gamberini gave Marco Di Vaio all the time and space he needed to carve open the back line.
With Artur Boruc saving the former West Ham United striker’s initial effort, the presence of six Viola shirts inside the area was still not enough to prevent Diamanti from taking two touches to compose himself before smashing the ball home.
Admittedly there was a touch of magic about Gaston Ramirez’s clincher shortly before halftime – a sublime back heel at the near post worthy of winning any game – although Gamberini could arguably be criticised for a touch of indecisiveness that allowed the Bologna man to beat him to Di Vaio’s teasing cut back.
A miserable night was compounded shortly after the restart, when new signing Ruben Olivera was dismissed for a ludicrously unnecessary elbow to the face of Diamanti.
It could be argued that there was no malice in the act, and Olivera was clearly baffled when the red card was produced, but it was the type of reckless play that is always going to leave a referee with little option.
With Riccardo Montolivo again looking disinterested, Stevan Jovetic having a rare off night, and with a defence completely devoid of any coherence or confidence, the most surprising thing about the final result was that Bologna’s margin of victory wasn’t greater.
With a trip to Rossi’s Champions League chasing former club Lazio to come at the weekend, things could yet get an awful lot worse. Whether or not things ultimately get better remains to be seen.
