Vincenzo Italiano contributed to the victory against Udinese with an unusual move. For just the second time since he’s at Fiorentina, he turned to a three-man defense to protect the lead. He took out a winger, Josip Brekalo, and inserted Nikola Milenkovic early in the second half. He switched to a 3-5-2, as Luca Beltran replaced Christian Kouamé at the same time.
Per Tuttomercatoweb, the only other occasion when it had happened was in the final minutes of an upset victory over Inter in the past. Despite the more conservative posture, the Viola sealed the deal thanks to a pretty goal by Giacomo Bonaventura.
The tactical switch by Italiano helped Fiorentina contain the opponents. Udinese had run amok until that point, although with no end product. The Friulani still managed to create more chances to equalize but didn’t capitalize on them.
The Gigliati grabbed their second win in a row after besting Atalanta in the past round in an equally gritty performance. They did it without Nicolas Gonzalez, who’s sidelined by an abdominal injury. They rarely prevailed sans him in the past. While M’Bala Nzola and Beltran once again failed to score, the pairing functioned well.
Our Take on Italiano and Fiorentina
While he’s been brilliant for a few years, he never stood out for his pragmatism. If Dodo is out for a while, it’d be easier to adapt players to the wingback role than to right-back.
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