Spinazzola Scores on Either Ends as Roma Beat Fiorentina in VAR Thriller

In Round 25 of Serie A, Roma traveled to Florence where they took on Cesare Prandelli’s Fiorentina in the hope of climbing back into the top four following a 2-1 loss to Milan on Sunday.

The defeat against Milan was Roma’s only second in the last eight matches in all competitions, but it proved to be a painful one. Paulo Fonseca’s men have slumped down to fifth place in the Serie A standings and were under a decent amount of pressure coming into tonight’s fixture.

On the other side, Fiorentina have also been beaten in their most recent clash against Udinese, which was their third loss in the last four league games.

After the sluggish opening 45 minutes, the game came to life in the second half, with two goals from Leonardo Spinazzola on either end and VAR controversy in the dying minutes of normal time, meaning Roma were the eventual winners on the night.

TEAM NEWS | ?

Tonight's starting XI ⚜️#ForzaViola ? #FiorentinaRoma pic.twitter.com/DB4aGXgBmo

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) March 3, 2021

The opening minutes of the game proved to be a rather cautious affair, with both teams posing little threat to each other on either end of the pitch.

It was Roma who had most of the possession during that period as the visitors were trying to build their play down the flanks in short passing combinations and subsequently whip the balls into the box, aiming to find Borja Mayoral.

On the other hand, Fiorentina were mostly looking to hit it long, thus beating Roma’s press inside their half. However, Roma’s defenders were comfortable in dealing with the long passes into channels which left the home side with no real options in attack.

The first real threatening action of the game took place in the 13^th minute when Henrikh Mkhitaryan picked up the loose ball in the middle of the pitch and burst forward towards Fiorentina’s goal. The Armenian midfielder fancied his chances and unleashed a long-range powerful effort which, however, went high over the bar.

The next five minutes belonged to the home side as they managed to put some pressure on Roma’s defensive block down the right side that resulted in several corner kicks.

Over the next 15 minutes, the game dynamics did not alter much as both teams remained well organized defensively, which made it hard for one another to create anything dangerous in and around the penalty box.

The last half-decent chance of the first half belonged to Roma when Lorenzo Pellegrini hit a shot towards the bottom left corner from the edge of the box, but it was quite comfortably saved by Bartlomiej Dragowski.

Nonetheless, just a few minutes into the second half, Roma had finally made a breakthrough. Gianluca Mancini played a superb lofted pass into the channel for Spinazzola, who took it first time and finished with a brilliant shot into the bottom right corner.

A moment of brilliance! ?
#ASRoma #FiorentinaRoma pic.twitter.com/qOCLk7X77e

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 3, 2021

Five minutes later, Fiorentina had their best chance of the game when Franck Ribery rose above everyone else in the box but could not keep his head down as the ball went over the bar.

The next couple of minutes was nothing short of a complete roller coaster. At first, Amadou Diawara connected with a pass around the edge of Fiorentina’s box and attempted a decent long-range drive, which was tipped over the bar by Dragowski.

The following corner kick was cleared by Fiorentina’s defense and the home side switched to a quick counterattack which ended with Spinazzola sending the ball into the roof of his own net after attempting to block a low cross.

After an equalizer, the game started to open up, with both teams creating decent chances on either end of the pitch, which could have easily resulted in a winning goal.

However, it was VAR controversy that decided the match-winner. In the 88^th minute of the game, Roma’s right wing-back Rick Karsdorp squared the ball to Diawara, who managed to beat Dragowski with a simple shot into the bottom left corner, but the linesman raised his flag, indicating the offside call.

Nevertheless, after a couple of agonizing minutes, the decision was turned to Roma’s favor as the Giallorossi claimed hard-fought three points.

What a time to score! ?@RKarsdorp2 squares it…
… Diawara steers it home!#ASRoma #FiorentinaRoma pic.twitter.com/0cJZga0MEo

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 3, 2021

 

MATCH REPORT

March 3, 2021 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 25
FIORENTINA-ROMA 1-2

SCORERS: 49′ Spinazzola (R), 60′ Spinazzola (R, o.g.), 90′ Diawara (R)

REFEREE: Mr. Calvarese from Teramo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Ribery (F); Mancini, Kumbulla (R); Extra Time: 1st Half 3′, 2nd Half 5′