Bologna won the first-leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal 3-0, thanks to goals from Riccardo Orsolini and Thijs Dalinga (2).
“We wanted to give ourselves a good chance of going through in the second leg,” Italiano told Sport Mediaset.
“We had the right approach from the start, scoring early and then going into the break at 2-0. We managed to score a third too, but I think the approach and attitude was key, including our fans coming to the training ground yesterday and the hunger in my lads to put in this performance.
“Now we go into the second leg with a 3-0 advantage, we won the first ‘half’ of the tie and will try to do the same in the second.”
He continued: “We said many times that the Champions League participation taught us so much, as we faced some of the best teams in Europe with a different level of tempo and intensity.
"We took all those lessons, especially the mental boost of beating Borussia Dortmund on a magical night, and carried it on to the other competitions.
“It let us climb back up the Serie A standings and reach the Coppa Italia semi-final. I do feel the Champions League marked a turning point for this team."
Italiano says reaching the Coppa final would be a huge moment for the club. Bologna last reached the final in 1974.
He added, “The club hasn’t been in the Coppa Italia Final for a long time, so we all have this dream and the lads gave their all to help it happen.”