Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski denied Georgiy Sudakov from the penalty spot early on, but they couldn't build on that as the match finished in a stalemate.
“We had chances, we played the game we wanted to in this Champions League debut,” Italiano told Sky Italia.
“Skorupski did really well on that penalty, otherwise the game would’ve changed completely. I thank the lads for a good performance.
“We’ve got to grow and improve in the final third, we’ve also got to make more of set play situations. The lads do have some regrets, because it is a game where we could’ve taken home all three points.
“Shakhtar move it a lot around their final third, they run risks and we could’ve made more of that with a high press.”
He added: “We attacked on both flanks and alternated. We’ve got to do better when we have those opportunities, as we are creating them and have a different spirit when we’re on home turf too. It was a positive debut, we will continue working.”