Catania picked up points for the second straight match after drawing Genoa 1-1 on Sunday.
The Grifone entered the season as relegation candidates and have already sacked their coach, Fabio Liverani, who was replaced by Gian Piero Gasperini. It was the perfect opportunity for the Rossazzurri to claim back-to-back victories, but couldn’t capitalise.
Part of that goes down to Gasperini’s tactics, which were wildly successful when he last coached the side from 2006-2010. However, it was yet another individual that cost Catania.
The ever-so-reliable Nicola Legrottaglie conceded an own goal following some miscommunication with Mariano Andujar. The defender attempted to head a cross out of the penalty area, but ended up knocking it into his net.
A small amount of blame goes down to Andujar as well due to the delay in him calling for the ball. Legrottaglie ended up getting tangled and inadvertently cost his team a win.
Nonetheless, it’s become a recurring theme with the Sicilians. Even though the usual suspects like Pablo Barrientos, Lucas Castro, and Jaroslav Plasil impressed, it was nullified thanks to preventable errors.
It must stop, because when tallying up all of the mistakes, it’s led to eight points being dropped. Add that to their current five, then the Elefanti would be tied for fifth in the Serie A table with Hellas Verona.
It’s vital that coach Rolando Maran fixes this as soon as possible. He has a solid squad with very little turnover. The only two key departures were Francesco Lodi and Alejandro Gomez, both were replaced, so there can’t be any excuses for their struggles this campaign.
The defence has allowed 11 goals, but nearly half of them have been down to moments of incompetence. There have been some new arrivals, like Fabian Monzon, who have been at fault, so it may take a bit more time for them to acclimatize to their surroundings.
On the other hand, these are professional footballers. Yes, it takes a while to settle into an unfamiliar country, which can affect performances on the pitch, but it’s unacceptable that it continues to transpire.
The bright side is that there are still 31 matches left and Catania are no stranger to slow starts. This seems to be a rare case where it’s taken longer to get going, but it’s justified with what occurred over the summer.
If Maran and his coaching staff can fix these errors, this Etnei side can challenge for Europe like they’ve done the last two years. If he can’t, then maybe switching to a back three may need to be the route, as playing a back four can lead to more mistakes at the back.
The Italian tactician deployed a 3-5-2 against Parma a couple of weeks ago, which led to a 0-0 draw. The defence had their best game of the season that weekend, but the attack didn’t click as much as usual.
That’s to be expected when playing a new system. Considering Catania have used a 4-3-3 for a few seasons now, it was bold for Maran to make the switch. He may have to do it permanently if the individual errors continue to happen. The change worked for Juventus and Fiorentina, maybe Catania can reap the rewards of a three man back line.
