Pre-match
Max Allegri had a ton of absences: Christian Pulisic, Christopher Nkunku, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Adrien Rabiot, Ardon Jashari, and Pervis Estupiñan were all in the stands, leaving him with a front two of Rafael
Leão and Alexis Saelemaekers. Stefano Pioli—making his 500th Serie A appearance as a head coach—surprisingly started Moise Kean up front, claiming that the injury that forced his striker out of Italy duty was fully healed. Behind the Moose, he set out a bunch of midfielders. Also, because of Hellas Verona’s draw with Pisa, our idiot sons began this game in 18th place, squarely in the relegation zone.
First half
When I say that it was wholly anonymous, that’s relative praise for this Fiorentina. AC Milan’s only real chances came off set pieces—Fikayo Tomori and Sasha Pavlović both snapped volleys off target—and the Viola, while fragile as ever, only pointed the gun at their own feet without actually pulling the trigger. Baby steps, y’know? It was still pretty dire going forward, of course, as our boys failed to muster a shot or even a particularly threatening situation.
Second half
Fiorentina did something surprising just 7 minutes into the half, which was take a shot. Sure, it was a long range effort from Hans Nicolussi Caviglia but any shot felt like a big deal. Which is why Robin Gosens eventually bundling home from the second phase of a corner was so goddamn funny. It was a wholly undeserved goal but the Rossoneri all seemed to understand that Pioli’s return meant something like this would happen.
This being Fiorentina, the universe declined to allow the joy to stand for very long and chose as its instrument Leão, who jinked into a bit of space and drove the ball into the bottom corner from range a few minutes later. Pablo Marí blocked his line of sight but David de Gea probably should’ve done better.
Things took a turn for the farcical late on when Fabiano Parisi “struck” Santiago Gimenez in the face. Watching in real time, it was clear that Paris grabbed the striker by the shoulder but never touched his head, but referee Livio Marinelli and VAR Rosario Abisso decided that such violent conduct indeed deserved a penalty, which Leão duly dispatched. Considering how much contact there is on every cross, giving a PK for this one felt extremely unjust and I expect the decision will feature prominently in discussions over the next couple days. It effectively ended this one as a game, that’s for sure.
Full time
Goals: Leão 63’ (ass. Pavlović) PK 86’; Gosens 55’, Ranieri 88’
Cards: Athekame 50’, Fofana 60’, Tomori 74’; Nicolussi Caviglia 54’
What’s next
Things don’t look like getting better any time soon. First, Fiorentina’s got a long trip to take on Rapid Wien in some Conference League action on Thursday. On Sunday, Bologna comes to Florence for the Derby del’Appennino, and then next Wednesday is a return to the San Siro to take on Inter Milan. Basically, it wouldn’t be at all surprising for Fiorentina to end October without a win in Serie A. This season started with everyone talking about qualifying for the Champions League. Fiorentina, baby.
