And here we go again! The new Serie A season is officially underway as Fiorentina hosted Torino at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence. Gaetano Castrovilli had the honor of scoring the first goal of the 2020-2021 season, as his simple tap-in was enough to earn the hosts a well-deserved victory.
Fiorentina boss Giuseppe Iachini kept his 3-5-2 formation from last season with Franck Ribery and Christian Kouamé in the attack, supported by star-player Federico Chiesa on the right flank and the returning Cristiano Biraghi from the left.
On the other side, new Torino manager Marco Giampaolo deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Captain Andrea Belotti supported by Simone Zaza and Alex Berenguer in the attack.
While the first half started slowly, with the play mostly based in the middle of the pitch, we had to wait until the 18th minute for the first real chance of the match, as Kouamé wasted an open header inside the 6-yards box after a brilliant cross from Biraghi.
A few minutes later Torino replied with a chance of their own, as the new signing Karol Linetty split the Viola defense with a brilliant through ball, but Berenguer’s shot was comfortably saved by Bartlomiej Dragowski.
At the end of the first half, Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu had to intervene twice. On the first occasion, he denied what would have been an own-goal by Cristian Ansaldi, and then on the second, he made an incredible goal-line save on another close-range Kouamé header, as the two sides went to the half-time break with nothing to separate them.
Fiorentina kicked off the second half right where they left, completely dominating the play, and scored a goal in the 47th minute but the VAR found Biraghi to be in an offside position. A few minutes later, Biraghi’s cross found Kouamé yet again, but the young striker completely missed it, emphasizing the Viola’s need for a veteran target-man, as we already highlighted.
The young Ivorian kept wasting opportunities, with new Fiorentina signing Giacomo Bonaventura also failing to find the net on several occasions.
Finally, Fiorentina had to rely on some Chiesa magic to open the scoring, as the young winger beat Ansaldi on the right and delivered a slide pass to the unmarked Castrovilli who ran behind the Granata defense and slotted home the easiest of goals.
At a time when Torino were expected to fiercely react, it was the hosts who were close to double their lead with Castrovilli and substitute Patrick Cutrone testing the toughness of Sirigu. Belotti’s disallowed goal was the last action of the season opener, as Fiorentina earn their first three points.
Some final thoughts on our part: Despite winning by the closest of margins, Fiorentina dominated most of the match while creating several scoring opportunities and were lucky not to score more, as the Tuscans could be set for an exciting season.
Also, Inter’s loss is Fiorentina’s gain, as Biraghi proved to be an important piece of Iachini’s puzzle and perhaps the Man of the Match. That being said, Chiesa remains Fiorentina’s biggest asset and their key-player.
MATCH REPORT
September 19, 2020 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 1
FIORENTINA-TORINO 1-0
SCORER: 78′ Castrovilli
 |
FIORENTINA (3-5-2): Dragowski; Caceres, Milenkovic, Ceccherini; Chiesa (83′ Lirola), Bonaventura (79′ Borja Valero), Duncan, Castrovilli, Biraghi (88′ Venuti); Kouamé (88′ Cutrone), Ribery (79′ Vlahovic) (Terracciano, Brancolini, Illanes, Saponara, Pezzella, Montiel, Igor) Coach: Iachini |
 |
TORINO (4-3-1-2): Sirigu; Izzo (88′ Vojvoda), Nkoulou, Bremer, Ansaldi; Meite (68′ Lukic), Rincon, Linetty (88′ Millico); Berenguer (68′ Verdi); Zaza, Belotti (Ujkani, Rosati, Segre, Falque, Rauti, Murru, Ferigra, Buongiorno) Coach: Giampaolo |
REFEREE: Mr. Abisso from Palermo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Ceccherini, Milenkovic, Biraghi (F), Linetty (T); Extra Time: 1st Half 4′, 2nd Half 6′