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FIORENTINA FANZONE
So, here we are at the end of March for your usual monthly round up of all things Fiorentina. It’s been a shorter month of action this time around, due to a mid-season break, but we are back tomorrow for the final match of the month.
League news
It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride this month, with a couple of defeats to break up the good run the team have been on. However, with 21 games gone, the purple ones still sit comfortably in second place, only 3 points behind favourites PSG. There are plenty of tough games to come, and the target remains a top 8 finish for the club, and the gap is currently 9 points down to 9th. We have a full round up of the games played in March below for your delectation.
European news
So far so good in the Dave Phillips Trophy, as Fiorentina qualified with ease with two games to go in the group stages, which was fantastic for getting in some squad player minutes. The first leg of the quarter final is below, a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester, who’s manager unfortunately missed the bus to the game, leaving his team to fend for themselves. There is still the second leg to come at home, but the fans must be confident of progressing to the semi-finals, where some good teams await.
Transfer news
We did see some action this month on the transfer front, as Saint Maximin left the club for Millwall. Despite only being seen as a bit part player in a bigger deal when he signed, he has become a fan favourite, with his dazzling runs, and contributing several goals along the way in a three-pronged attack at time. Why was he sold then? Two reasons, well maybe three reasons. One was to ensure the club had enough funds to pay the wages for the rest of the season, secondly was his minute situation, which would have meant he had to play more regularly, pushing the manager to play 3 up front on a regular basis. Lastly to also bring more balance to the side, as the squad was off balance with only 3 decent midfielders. What was the deal? Millwall paid £22.5m and attacking midfielder Diaby, a player who is younger and provides good cover as an attacking midfielder. With the injury to Locatelli, he has been straight into the action.
M_Diaby 25 fra 1 3 21 20 30 1 823 707 69
League round up
Week 17
Fiorentina 2-1 Sevilla
Bit of a squeaky bum time game in the end, as we took a chance to bring two 17's on when 2 up early in the game. It nearly backfired however, as Sevilla came right back into the game.
We started fairly adventurously with 3 up front and P, and raced into a two goal lead in the first eleven minutes, a score which kicked in the two subs.
Berardi and Chuk amongst the goals again, and Cancelo had a good game at the back.
Was it worth the stress to get two squaddies 88 minutes each? just about. Sevilla played well and nearly got the point, ul dude.
The only downside was the late sending off for Wan Bisaka, but with a not too important Euro game coming up, it could be worse.
There was good news elsewhere as both PSG and Munich lost points, to slightly stretch the Euro positions.
Week 18
Fiorentina 0-0 AC Milan
A bore draw for the fans here, with only 5 shots on target between the teams over the 90 minutes.
AC have a good side, and were expected to probably play C, so the home manager decided not to risk playing more adventurously, though with hindsight, maybe it was the option to go for.
We aren't going to finish near the top playing cautiously every week, but will the manager do something daring away against Real Madrid next? well, his options are more limited given the red card for Goreztka in this game.
We are approaching midway, and very much in the European places as hoped, and indeed doing better in the table than expected so far, but it can all change so quickly.
Week 19
Real Madrid 2-1 Fiorentina
No shame in losing this one, but a little disappointed all the same.
Both sides were missing a player, and Madrid had home and tactical advantage to start, with Fio persisting with the counter against better sides.
Madrid went into a two goal lead, before Berardi pulled one back late on, but it was too late to start a charge for the draw.
The stats surprisingly showed Fiorentina had far more shots, so perhaps if we had been more attacking a different result may have been achieved, who knows. GG Freddie.
So second at halfway, and 10 points above the Champions League places, I would definitely have taken that at the start of the season, but can we hold on?
Week 20
Fiorentina 1-2 Napoli
Oh dear, probably our worst result of the season so far. We perhaps picked an overconfident formation and tactics, but based on the stats we really should have won, but well played to the Napoli boss, though I didn't notice they had a manager, so was expecting a random.
We picked up 63% possession, and had 29 shots to 12, but sometimes these things happen, we weren't clinical enough, and they were.
On the positive aspects, Mbappe scored and Wan Bissaka had a great game at the back.
On to the next game.
Week 21
Monaco 1-2 Fiorentina
Given our recent form I went into this one with some fear, but we just about did enough in the end to pick up the points.
We started cautiously, and it was Monaco that scored first, and triggered some changes. Mbappe settled the nerves a little before half time with a well taken goal, and we got the luck of a penalty decision in the second half, which Berardi tucked away. We created a decent number of chances, but couldn't put any others way, for a deserved win in the end. Ul dude.
Goretzka had a great game in the middle, but we had a late downside with a 2 week injury to Locatelli that keeps him out of a couple of big games.
Week 22
Fiorentina 3-0 Inter Milan
A satisfying reversal of the away match defeat earlier in the season. Both sides have been pushing hard at the top of the table this season, so it was a big match in terms of which side would keep the push going. It started C v N and Fiorentina got the goals through defender Estupinan twice, and striker Berardi, who keeps up his chase for the EF1 golden boot. The stats were in favour of the home team, and we can thank that keeper Marmadvili had a good game to keep the clean sheet. We can welcome back Locatelli for our next game, but the form of Diaby means he hasn’t been missed.
There’s a little gap developed underneath the top 4 currently, which gives the side further hope of the European place that they have targeted. Next up it is the second leg of the European semi, before league matches against in form Lisbon and Roma
European DPT QF
Leicester 0-3 Fiorentina
Delighted to be in a commanding position in the tie, but disappointed for Leicester that they missed the teamsheet, and it was a T
Berardi enjoyed his deeper role, popping up with a hattrick, and to be honest the scoreline could have been a lot higher, was it not for the 19 saves Areola made!
We had 72% possession and 32 shots, so it could have been worse for Leicester.
It's not over till it's over however, maybe Leicester can do the same to us on the second leg...
So that’s it for March, bring on April!
Words 1327
So, here we are at the end of March for your usual monthly round up of all things Fiorentina. It’s been a shorter month of action this time around, due to a mid-season break, but we are back tomorrow for the final match of the month.
League news
It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride this month, with a couple of defeats to break up the good run the team have been on. However, with 21 games gone, the purple ones still sit comfortably in second place, only 3 points behind favourites PSG. There are plenty of tough games to come, and the target remains a top 8 finish for the club, and the gap is currently 9 points down to 9th. We have a full round up of the games played in March below for your delectation.
European news
So far so good in the Dave Phillips Trophy, as Fiorentina qualified with ease with two games to go in the group stages, which was fantastic for getting in some squad player minutes. The first leg of the quarter final is below, a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester, who’s manager unfortunately missed the bus to the game, leaving his team to fend for themselves. There is still the second leg to come at home, but the fans must be confident of progressing to the semi-finals, where some good teams await.
Transfer news
We did see some action this month on the transfer front, as Saint Maximin left the club for Millwall. Despite only being seen as a bit part player in a bigger deal when he signed, he has become a fan favourite, with his dazzling runs, and contributing several goals along the way in a three-pronged attack at time. Why was he sold then? Two reasons, well maybe three reasons. One was to ensure the club had enough funds to pay the wages for the rest of the season, secondly was his minute situation, which would have meant he had to play more regularly, pushing the manager to play 3 up front on a regular basis. Lastly to also bring more balance to the side, as the squad was off balance with only 3 decent midfielders. What was the deal? Millwall paid £22.5m and attacking midfielder Diaby, a player who is younger and provides good cover as an attacking midfielder. With the injury to Locatelli, he has been straight into the action.
M_Diaby 25 fra 1 3 21 20 30 1 823 707 69
League round up
Week 17
Fiorentina 2-1 Sevilla
Bit of a squeaky bum time game in the end, as we took a chance to bring two 17's on when 2 up early in the game. It nearly backfired however, as Sevilla came right back into the game.
We started fairly adventurously with 3 up front and P, and raced into a two goal lead in the first eleven minutes, a score which kicked in the two subs.
Berardi and Chuk amongst the goals again, and Cancelo had a good game at the back.
Was it worth the stress to get two squaddies 88 minutes each? just about. Sevilla played well and nearly got the point, ul dude.
The only downside was the late sending off for Wan Bisaka, but with a not too important Euro game coming up, it could be worse.
There was good news elsewhere as both PSG and Munich lost points, to slightly stretch the Euro positions.
Week 18
Fiorentina 0-0 AC Milan
A bore draw for the fans here, with only 5 shots on target between the teams over the 90 minutes.
AC have a good side, and were expected to probably play C, so the home manager decided not to risk playing more adventurously, though with hindsight, maybe it was the option to go for.
We aren't going to finish near the top playing cautiously every week, but will the manager do something daring away against Real Madrid next? well, his options are more limited given the red card for Goreztka in this game.
We are approaching midway, and very much in the European places as hoped, and indeed doing better in the table than expected so far, but it can all change so quickly.
Week 19
Real Madrid 2-1 Fiorentina
No shame in losing this one, but a little disappointed all the same.
Both sides were missing a player, and Madrid had home and tactical advantage to start, with Fio persisting with the counter against better sides.
Madrid went into a two goal lead, before Berardi pulled one back late on, but it was too late to start a charge for the draw.
The stats surprisingly showed Fiorentina had far more shots, so perhaps if we had been more attacking a different result may have been achieved, who knows. GG Freddie.
So second at halfway, and 10 points above the Champions League places, I would definitely have taken that at the start of the season, but can we hold on?
Week 20
Fiorentina 1-2 Napoli
Oh dear, probably our worst result of the season so far. We perhaps picked an overconfident formation and tactics, but based on the stats we really should have won, but well played to the Napoli boss, though I didn't notice they had a manager, so was expecting a random.
We picked up 63% possession, and had 29 shots to 12, but sometimes these things happen, we weren't clinical enough, and they were.
On the positive aspects, Mbappe scored and Wan Bissaka had a great game at the back.
On to the next game.
Week 21
Monaco 1-2 Fiorentina
Given our recent form I went into this one with some fear, but we just about did enough in the end to pick up the points.
We started cautiously, and it was Monaco that scored first, and triggered some changes. Mbappe settled the nerves a little before half time with a well taken goal, and we got the luck of a penalty decision in the second half, which Berardi tucked away. We created a decent number of chances, but couldn't put any others way, for a deserved win in the end. Ul dude.
Goretzka had a great game in the middle, but we had a late downside with a 2 week injury to Locatelli that keeps him out of a couple of big games.
Week 22
Fiorentina 3-0 Inter Milan
A satisfying reversal of the away match defeat earlier in the season. Both sides have been pushing hard at the top of the table this season, so it was a big match in terms of which side would keep the push going. It started C v N and Fiorentina got the goals through defender Estupinan twice, and striker Berardi, who keeps up his chase for the EF1 golden boot. The stats were in favour of the home team, and we can thank that keeper Marmadvili had a good game to keep the clean sheet. We can welcome back Locatelli for our next game, but the form of Diaby means he hasn’t been missed.
There’s a little gap developed underneath the top 4 currently, which gives the side further hope of the European place that they have targeted. Next up it is the second leg of the European semi, before league matches against in form Lisbon and Roma
European DPT QF
Leicester 0-3 Fiorentina
Delighted to be in a commanding position in the tie, but disappointed for Leicester that they missed the teamsheet, and it was a T
Berardi enjoyed his deeper role, popping up with a hattrick, and to be honest the scoreline could have been a lot higher, was it not for the 19 saves Areola made!
We had 72% possession and 32 shots, so it could have been worse for Leicester.
It's not over till it's over however, maybe Leicester can do the same to us on the second leg...
So that’s it for March, bring on April!
Words 1327