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FIORENTINA FANZONE
It’s been a good start to the season for the Fiorentina fans, as the purple ones hit the ground running. At the time of writing Fiorentina sit in an unfamiliar top spot in EF1, albeit on goal difference. The boss man has been keen to downplay things so far however, perhaps in an attempt to take the pressure off his players.
‘’It’s very early days, and our position means nothing. We have to keep taking each game as it comes, and developing individual and team skills to prepare for the challenges ahead. We have been fortunate with the fixture list in terms of not having to play many of last season’s top 8 yet. The one we did have, we lost away to Inter Milan. All we can do is keep winning, and hope we get something out the tough battles to come’’
Berardi has been the main man for the goals in the early games, hitting 8 in 8, so far justifying his purchase and captaincy, though he has slowed down a little in recent games. Chukwueze has carried on when Berardi left off however, racking up the goals from midfield. Their have been several changes in midfield so far, with only Chuk still there. New signings Locatelli and Rovella had a slow start, but Rovella at least seems to be hitting his stride. However, he is the subject of some transfer speculation, with several bids already rejected, Millwall don’t appear to be giving up just yet though. At the back Cancelo came in to add class, but then promptly got injured for 3 games, and Wan Bissaka has done well since arriving from Madrid in a double deal with Militao leaving. St Maxminin came in as part of a wider deal, and wasn’t expected to start much, however has done well in the last three games where Fiorentina have played a more adventurous line up to accommodate him. It remains to be seen whether he will stay any longer than midseason though.
Anyway, enough chat, let’s have the run down on the games so far –
Week 1
Napoli 1-7 Fiorentina
Fiorentina travelled to fellow Italian side Napoli with high hopes for a good start to the season, but even in their best dreams didn't imagine scoring seven!
Napoli look a shadow of their former self following a sell off of some older players, and are likely to be one of the relegation favourites.
They are also unmanaged after Walters was poached by Sunderland, and the result was likely to come down to what tactics assistant manager Mr T put out.
Fortunately a 442A played right into the travelling side's hands, and it was one way traffic for most of the match.
With a shot count of 30-9, the away side were good value for the win, even though the 7 goals was a little flattering.
Star players were Berardi with two goals, Araujo with plenty of passes from the back, and Martinez and De Jong with good all round performances.
Even super sub Tymoschuk got in on the act, scoring two late goals with his amazing 11 shooting.
The fans hope to carry on the good vibes with a home match against Monaco on Friday.
Week 2
Fiorentina 2-2 Monaco
Fiorentina went into the second game of the season buoyed by a high scoring first game, but knew it would be a whole different ball game against Monaco, who have some quality across the pitch, and were more likely to play cautiously. Fiorentina stuck with the same side and formation, though were tempted to go with a European style against the likely counter.
What occurred was a slightly disappointing result based on the stats, but with coming back from 2-1 down in the second half it could also have been worse.
The shot count was 19-6 in the home side's favour, and it was disappointing to let two goals in from four on target.
Berardi started the game perfectly with an early goal, but Monaco came back to equalise. The home side made some tactical changes which gave the opposition the advantage, and Monaco went ahead early in the second half. Fortunately Estupinan stepped up with the first goal for the club to get the important point.
There are tough games ahead, and some personnel changes to come in the next week or two, but to leave the first week with 4 points is a decent outcome.
Week 3
Inter Milan 2-1 Fiorentina
I had a feeling we would lose this one, mainly because of the keeper difference, but it turned out Gnabry was the tosser instead!
It started well enough with the 1st minute goal from Chukwueze, who has been shooting lots but not scoring until now.
It even looked hopeful when they switched to A against our C, but as it turned out Inter took control and were good value for the win. gg dude.
The result drops us off the pace a bit, but these are the kind of games if you're going to drop points is where it should happen.
Hopefully we can back on track against Lisbon on Friday.
Week 4
Fiorentina 3-2 Lisbon
Pheww! I'd almost given up on this one before the injury time heroics.
We tried mixing things up with formation and tactics, going E against a suspected C, and so it started. It went well at first with the early goal from Berardi, however Lisbon switched to A to take the tactical advantage, and scored two goals to take the lead on 69 minutes. We switched to A as well, and threw everything at Lisbon. It looked like we were going to be robbed, but no, injury time goals from Berardi again, and a winner from Chuk took the win.
The stats indicated it was a well deserved win, but the game was far from straightforward. ul Jase.
Next up is a double header against Roma, in league and Europe, and they have been struggling, but might be like wounded animal ready to strike..
Week 5
Roma 0-3 Fiorentina
I wasn't expecting this kind of result, despite Roma's form at the moment, and to be honest I'm not sure we deserved it.
Tactically it went ok at the start, and Berardi continued his clinical vein of form at the moment with two early goals.
In respect to Roma's strength we decided to try and defend from half an hour in, which might have impacted the stats, because overall it showed they edged the game
Unlucky Hamza, maybe you will get revenge in Europe.
It was a good performance from the new lads in midfield, the only downside being a bad injury to Cancelo that will keep him out for 3 games.
Third is a good as we could have hoped for at this stage, but there's plenty of tough games to come.
Week 6
Fiorentina 6-0 Celtic
Impressive win from the lads, but helped by the fact Celtic had their main keeper out.
We decided to go with an adventurous line up to maximise shots on their keeper, and it worked out pretty well despite giving up the tactical advantage
The only surprise was that Berardi wasn't amongst the goals, with defenders, St Maximin and a sub midfielder getting them.
We were five up by half time, and had brought on some subs for minutes by then, and slowed down in the second half.
Celtic were in the game, and had a decent amount of shots themselves, but our keeper was up to the job today.
So.. top of the league, but not getting carried away, as we have lots of top sides still to play this first half of season.
Next up is Rangers, who also have their main keeper out... I won't thank the luck gods yet, as we will probably come unstuck
Week 7
Rangers 2-3 Fiorentina
We sneaked a win in the final minute to keep the good run going, after Rangers gave us a good scare.
We knew their keeper was out and they were likely to counter us, but went for the 3 up front P anyway, hoping it would be enough to score more.
It didn't quite pan out as planned, with Rangers giving as good as they got based on the stats, and it was only a late double that earned us the points when we went attacking. ul dude.
Chuk is coming into some goalscoring form, and Estupinan and Spinazzola had good games at the back.
Not sure what to do next, now Cancelo is back from injury, though we have a couple of home games coming in the league, after Europe.
EUROPE – DPT
Game 1
Fiorentina 4-2 Roma
Hamza must be sick of us, after two wins in the last two games against his side.
This time around the tactics were different, with Fiorentina switching to a more adventurous P and 3 up front, and Roma countering, but the end result was similar.
St Maximin scored on his first start, and Kostic got man of the match for half a game at the back with two goals thrown in.
We deserved this one a little more than the league game, with plenty of shots on target, and it was a good way to start our European campaign.
Words 1550 so far
It’s been a good start to the season for the Fiorentina fans, as the purple ones hit the ground running. At the time of writing Fiorentina sit in an unfamiliar top spot in EF1, albeit on goal difference. The boss man has been keen to downplay things so far however, perhaps in an attempt to take the pressure off his players.
‘’It’s very early days, and our position means nothing. We have to keep taking each game as it comes, and developing individual and team skills to prepare for the challenges ahead. We have been fortunate with the fixture list in terms of not having to play many of last season’s top 8 yet. The one we did have, we lost away to Inter Milan. All we can do is keep winning, and hope we get something out the tough battles to come’’
Berardi has been the main man for the goals in the early games, hitting 8 in 8, so far justifying his purchase and captaincy, though he has slowed down a little in recent games. Chukwueze has carried on when Berardi left off however, racking up the goals from midfield. Their have been several changes in midfield so far, with only Chuk still there. New signings Locatelli and Rovella had a slow start, but Rovella at least seems to be hitting his stride. However, he is the subject of some transfer speculation, with several bids already rejected, Millwall don’t appear to be giving up just yet though. At the back Cancelo came in to add class, but then promptly got injured for 3 games, and Wan Bissaka has done well since arriving from Madrid in a double deal with Militao leaving. St Maxminin came in as part of a wider deal, and wasn’t expected to start much, however has done well in the last three games where Fiorentina have played a more adventurous line up to accommodate him. It remains to be seen whether he will stay any longer than midseason though.
Anyway, enough chat, let’s have the run down on the games so far –
Week 1
Napoli 1-7 Fiorentina
Fiorentina travelled to fellow Italian side Napoli with high hopes for a good start to the season, but even in their best dreams didn't imagine scoring seven!
Napoli look a shadow of their former self following a sell off of some older players, and are likely to be one of the relegation favourites.
They are also unmanaged after Walters was poached by Sunderland, and the result was likely to come down to what tactics assistant manager Mr T put out.
Fortunately a 442A played right into the travelling side's hands, and it was one way traffic for most of the match.
With a shot count of 30-9, the away side were good value for the win, even though the 7 goals was a little flattering.
Star players were Berardi with two goals, Araujo with plenty of passes from the back, and Martinez and De Jong with good all round performances.
Even super sub Tymoschuk got in on the act, scoring two late goals with his amazing 11 shooting.
The fans hope to carry on the good vibes with a home match against Monaco on Friday.
Week 2
Fiorentina 2-2 Monaco
Fiorentina went into the second game of the season buoyed by a high scoring first game, but knew it would be a whole different ball game against Monaco, who have some quality across the pitch, and were more likely to play cautiously. Fiorentina stuck with the same side and formation, though were tempted to go with a European style against the likely counter.
What occurred was a slightly disappointing result based on the stats, but with coming back from 2-1 down in the second half it could also have been worse.
The shot count was 19-6 in the home side's favour, and it was disappointing to let two goals in from four on target.
Berardi started the game perfectly with an early goal, but Monaco came back to equalise. The home side made some tactical changes which gave the opposition the advantage, and Monaco went ahead early in the second half. Fortunately Estupinan stepped up with the first goal for the club to get the important point.
There are tough games ahead, and some personnel changes to come in the next week or two, but to leave the first week with 4 points is a decent outcome.
Week 3
Inter Milan 2-1 Fiorentina
I had a feeling we would lose this one, mainly because of the keeper difference, but it turned out Gnabry was the tosser instead!
It started well enough with the 1st minute goal from Chukwueze, who has been shooting lots but not scoring until now.
It even looked hopeful when they switched to A against our C, but as it turned out Inter took control and were good value for the win. gg dude.
The result drops us off the pace a bit, but these are the kind of games if you're going to drop points is where it should happen.
Hopefully we can back on track against Lisbon on Friday.
Week 4
Fiorentina 3-2 Lisbon
Pheww! I'd almost given up on this one before the injury time heroics.
We tried mixing things up with formation and tactics, going E against a suspected C, and so it started. It went well at first with the early goal from Berardi, however Lisbon switched to A to take the tactical advantage, and scored two goals to take the lead on 69 minutes. We switched to A as well, and threw everything at Lisbon. It looked like we were going to be robbed, but no, injury time goals from Berardi again, and a winner from Chuk took the win.
The stats indicated it was a well deserved win, but the game was far from straightforward. ul Jase.
Next up is a double header against Roma, in league and Europe, and they have been struggling, but might be like wounded animal ready to strike..
Week 5
Roma 0-3 Fiorentina
I wasn't expecting this kind of result, despite Roma's form at the moment, and to be honest I'm not sure we deserved it.
Tactically it went ok at the start, and Berardi continued his clinical vein of form at the moment with two early goals.
In respect to Roma's strength we decided to try and defend from half an hour in, which might have impacted the stats, because overall it showed they edged the game
Unlucky Hamza, maybe you will get revenge in Europe.
It was a good performance from the new lads in midfield, the only downside being a bad injury to Cancelo that will keep him out for 3 games.
Third is a good as we could have hoped for at this stage, but there's plenty of tough games to come.
Week 6
Fiorentina 6-0 Celtic
Impressive win from the lads, but helped by the fact Celtic had their main keeper out.
We decided to go with an adventurous line up to maximise shots on their keeper, and it worked out pretty well despite giving up the tactical advantage
The only surprise was that Berardi wasn't amongst the goals, with defenders, St Maximin and a sub midfielder getting them.
We were five up by half time, and had brought on some subs for minutes by then, and slowed down in the second half.
Celtic were in the game, and had a decent amount of shots themselves, but our keeper was up to the job today.
So.. top of the league, but not getting carried away, as we have lots of top sides still to play this first half of season.
Next up is Rangers, who also have their main keeper out... I won't thank the luck gods yet, as we will probably come unstuck
Week 7
Rangers 2-3 Fiorentina
We sneaked a win in the final minute to keep the good run going, after Rangers gave us a good scare.
We knew their keeper was out and they were likely to counter us, but went for the 3 up front P anyway, hoping it would be enough to score more.
It didn't quite pan out as planned, with Rangers giving as good as they got based on the stats, and it was only a late double that earned us the points when we went attacking. ul dude.
Chuk is coming into some goalscoring form, and Estupinan and Spinazzola had good games at the back.
Not sure what to do next, now Cancelo is back from injury, though we have a couple of home games coming in the league, after Europe.
EUROPE – DPT
Game 1
Fiorentina 4-2 Roma
Hamza must be sick of us, after two wins in the last two games against his side.
This time around the tactics were different, with Fiorentina switching to a more adventurous P and 3 up front, and Roma countering, but the end result was similar.
St Maximin scored on his first start, and Kostic got man of the match for half a game at the back with two goals thrown in.
We deserved this one a little more than the league game, with plenty of shots on target, and it was a good way to start our European campaign.
Words 1550 so far
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