Fiorentina Add to Udinese Woes After 3-2 Home Win

Fiorentina, Italian Football, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021, Udinese One comment

Fiorentina moved into the top half of the table after securing an impressive win over Udinese, putting an end to their three match win-less streak.

Giuseppe Iachini’s men started the 2020-21 Serie A campaign with a hard-fought win over Torino. Since then, they have struggled to impose their will against their domestic rivals. They have lost five points from winning posititions, letting their lead slip against Inter and Spezia.

On the other hand, Udinese came into the fixture after ending their three-match losing streak. The Little Zebras impressed in their 3-2 win over Parma and would have looked to improve in only their second trip of the campaign.

An entertaining encounter was expected, with both sides showing that they remain suspect at the back. With both sides getting on the scoreboard in the first half and plenty of goal-mouth action in the second, the match lived up to its billing.

Fiorentina were expressive in the opening exchanges and tested the Udinese resolve with swift ball movement. Their tactics would prove dividends, with Gaetano Castrovilli putting the finishing touches on an excellent move. Giacomo Bonaventura found Cristiano Biraghi on the far end with a cross. Biraghi squared the ball into the box, which was easily tapped into the net by Castrovilli.

Ten minutes later, Castrovilli would turn provider for Fiorentina’s second of the night. The Minervino native received the ball inside the box and crossed to the left post, which was met by Nikola Milenkovic. The resulting header was fierce and went into the bottom left corner to double the host’s lead.

Udinese had to respond, and they did with a couple of meaningful chances. Kevin Lasagna should have halved the deficit but could not get past Bartlomiej Dragowski when one-on-one. The Fiorentina custodian saved a certain goal but was unable to keep the visitors at bay for long.

Udinese midfield maestro Rodrigo De Paul had caused problems with his vision and creativity at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. He would show his pedigree in the final minutes of first-half. De Paul’s deflected pass found Stefano Okaka, whose header made it 2-1.

Both sides continued to string together attacking opportunities in the second half. It was La Viola who troubled the scorers first as Castrovilli’s rich vein of form at home continued. The Italy international’s strike from the edge of the box sailed into the top right corner to return their two-goal lead.

Stefano Okaka would come close for his second of the night for Udinese but was denied by the alert Fiorentina shot-stopper Bartłomiej Drągowski. Roberto Pereyra, too would try his luck with a long-range shot, but his effort was wide of the right post. Gerard Deulofeu would come close, but the Fiorentina shot-stopper rose to the occasion.

Efforts of Luca Gotti’s men would be rewarded in the final minutes of regulation time. Stefano Okaka met Fernando Forestieri lofted the ball into the box, and his resulting header was planted into the back of the net.

Udinese upped the tempo in the final moments of the game but could not add to their tally. The Zebras return to Stadio Friuli with nothing to show for despite giving a good account of their abilities. Meanwhile, Giuseppe Iachini would be pleased with the points despite the nervous moments in the end.

Related posts:

  1. Serie A Round 7 Preview and Expected Lineups
  2. Serie A Round 12 Preview and Expected Lineups
  3. Serie A Round 15 Preview and Expected Lineups
  4. The Serie A 2020-2021 Winter Transfer Market Tracker

One comment

  1. Pingback: The Top 5 Stories of Serie A Round 5: Goals and Goals Again!

Comments are closed.