Fiorentina suffered a second straight winless result as they were held by Verona to a 1-1 draw in what was quite an interesting match at the Artemio Franchi Stadium. The Viola got off to a brilliant start as they scored early with Krzysztof Piatek, however the Scaligeri found their equalizer thanks to a penalty from Gianluca Caprari.
Starting XIs: Maleh Gets a Chance, Barak Not Called
For Fiorentina, Lorenzo Venuti started on the right, taking Alvaro Odriozola’s spot after he suffered an injury during the Coppa Italia match last Wednesday. On the midfield, coach Vincenzo Italiano gave Youssef Maleh a chance, with Giacomo Bonaventura suspended for two games. Upfront, Riccardo Saponara joined Piatek and Jonathan Ikoné.
Verona recovered Nicolò Casale and Koray Gunter in defense, although coach Igor Tudor left Antonin Barak out of the squad after a he suffered an injury in last week’s match. Kevin Lasagna took his place next to Caprari behind Giovanni Simeone.
Piatek Strikes Again but Milenkovic Ruins Everything
Fiorentina dominated the first ten minutes of the first half, finding an early goal again with an amazing fast break: Pietro Terracciano made a long pass from his goal to Ikoné, who managed to control the ball, dribbled past Casale, and passed it to Piatek who found the back of the net.
However, on 20 minutes, Nikola Milenkovic committed a foul in the box that led to a penalty for Verona – which Caprari promptly converted. Before the half time break, Verona had a chance to score again. It was Lasagna to test Terracciano this time, but the Viola goalie made an incredible save and preserving the draw.
Torreira Wastes a Lot, Montipò Avoids Loss with Great Save
In the second half, coach Italiano decided to shake things up and made three substitutions, replacing Maleh, Saponara and Ikoné with Duncan, Riccardo Sottil and Josè Callejon. They all had an immediate impact on the match and created three clear scoring opportunities, but Lucas Torreira wasted two of them.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, the Viola almost had their winner with a sweet curling free kick from Callejon, but Lorenzo Montipò saved it for gli Scaligeri. In the last 10 minutes, neither Fiorentina nor Verona tried to win the game and seemed happy with taking one point each.
Fiorentina and Verona now sit respectively 8th and 9th in the table with 43 and 41 points respectively. However, the Viola still have a game in hand against Udinese, which was cancelled earlier this year due to covid cases.
What’s Next for Fiorentina and Verona
With both teams surprisingly fully involved in the battle for a possible Europa League or Conference League spot, Fiorentina will have an easier match-up on the card next week against Bologna at home. Verona, on the other hand, will feature in a high-stake match against Napoli that will certainly be no holds barred considering the historical rivalry between the two sides.
MATCH SCORECARD
March 6, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 28
FIORENTINA – VERONA 1-1
SCORERS: 10′ Piatek (F), 20′ Caprari (V, pen.)
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FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Terracciano; Venuti, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Castrovilli, Torreira (76’ Amrabat), Maleh (46’ Duncan); Ikoné (46’ Callejon), Piatek (71’ N. Gonzalez), Saponara (46’ Sottil) Coach: Italiano |
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VERONA (3-4-1-2): Montipò; Casale, Gunter, Ceccherini; Faraoni (87’ Sutalo), Tameze, Ilic, Lazovic (61’ Depaoli); Caprari; Simeone, Lasagna (69’ Bessa) Coach: Tudor |