Fiorentina came back to winning ways after two matches as they beat Bologna 1-0 in the first Serie A match this Sunday in what is historically known as the Derby dell’Appennino.
Starting XIs: Bonaventura Returns, Arnautovic Back Upfront
For Fiorentina, Alvaro Odriozola returned on the right-back side, alongside Nikola Milenkovic, Igor and Cristiano Biraghi. In midfield, Giacomo Bonaventura took his spot back as his two-game ban was lifted. Upfront, Krzysztof Piątek was joined by Riccardo Sottil on the left and Nico Gonzalez on the right.
For Bologna, Sinisa Mihajlovic replaced Arthur Theate with Kevin Bonifazi at the back as the Belgian center-back facing a one-game suspension. No changes were made on the midfield. Upfront, Roberto Soriano made his way back in the starting lineup and was paired with Riccardo Orsolini behind lone striker Marko Arnautovic.
Bologna Hits Post Twice as Bonifazi Gets Sent Off
As soon as the match started, a long pass from Orsolini led to Soriano almost scoring, but the Italian playmaker was denied by the crossbar with Viola‘s goalie Pietro Terracciano unable to answer.
From then on, Fiorentina took over the match and created multiple goal scoring opportunities but weren’t lucid enough to convert them. Bologna again came close to take the lead, but this time they were denied by the post after a great solo play by Orsolini.
This led to a counter-attack from Fiorentina that was only stopped by a late foul of Bonifazi, who was already booked and thus got send off, leaving Bologna one man down and inevitably changing the fate of the match.
Fiorentina Dominates as Torreira Finally Scores
In the second half, Fiorentina made a strong start, being one man up, pressing high and constantly attacking Bologna. The Felsinei essentially parked the bus and coach Mihajlovic made a more defensive substitution by replacing Orsolini with Luis Binks, to which coach Italiano replied by bringing in Jonathan Ikoné and Arthur Cabral.
With twenty minutes left on the clock, the Viola finally broke the deadlock: a cross from Cristiano Biraghi, tapped by Gaetano Castrovilli, led to Lucas Torreira being face to face with Bologna’s goalie Lukasz Skorupski. The Uruguayan midfielder made no mistake to set the score at 1-0.
Fiorentina now sit 8th the table with 46 points, however the Viola still have a game in hand against Udinese, which was cancelled earlier this year due to covid cases. Bologna sit 12th with 33 points, having won only a game in the last nine, and being 11 points clear above the relegation zone.
What’s Next for Fiorentina and Bologna
Fiorentina will face Inter away next week in a high-stake match for both sides, with the Nerazzurri competing for the Scudetto and the Viola fully involved in the race for a Europa or Conference League spot.
Bologna, on the other hand, will host Atalanta at home in what will be a a win or go home match for La Dea and their hopes to qualify for the Champions League next season.
MATCH SCORECARD
March 13, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 29
FIORENTINA – BOLOGNA 1-0
SCORERS: 70′ Torreira
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FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Terracciano; Odriozola (78′ Venuti), Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi (77′ Terzic); Castrovilli, Torreira, Bonaventura (65′ Duncan); Sottil (59′ Ikoné), Piatek (59′ Cabral), Gonzalez (Dragowski, Quarta, Nastasic, Maleh, Amrabat, Callejon, Saponara) Coach: Italiano |
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BOLOGNA (3-4-2-1): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel (79′ Sansone), Bonifazi; De Silvestri (79′ Dijks), Schouten, Svanberg (79′ Aebischer), Hickey; Soriano (59′ Barrow), Orsolini (58′ Binks); Arnautovic (Bardi, Molla, Mbaye, Kasius, Vignato, Viola, Falcinelli) Coach: Mihajlovic |