Pre-match
It looked like Daniele de Rossi (reportedly coaching for his job after Genoa had taken a single point from its first 5 games and scored just 3 goals) had trotted out a 3-4-2-1 featuring Hamed Junior Traoré in midfield. Paolo Vanoli shuffled things, bringing Christ Inao Oulaï into the midfield alongside Nicolò Fagioli in a move that earned widespread approval from fans. Víctor Valdepeñas, Wilfried Gnonto, and Beto also rotated in. Despite rumors that he’d only be a substitute, Franco Mastantuono did
too.
First half
Fiorentina didn’t get a touch before Genoa scored. A nice touch and some woeful marking set into motion a terrible string of events that ended with Mikael Ellertson’s shot whistling so wide that it ended up being a perfect pass for Milutin Osmajić to tap home.
It went from bad to worse. Luca Ranieri got himself booked for a dumb challenge, the type you’d expect from someone trying to fire up his team. It backfired as he immediately gave up the second goal, too, although Víctor Valdepeñas certainly didn’t help as he let the ball through for Osmajić to track down and cross. Ranieri’s missed clearance was an all-timer, though.
The Viola finally got onto the ball for a moment but were completely at sea. Fagioulaï didn’t control the middle with or without the ball as every other pass went astray. Zooming out, Fiorentina didn’t understand the Rossoblu were in a back 4, which allowed them to get 5 v 4 up front and play the ball down the wings to an open runner over and over, creating a series of threats which the visiting defense never understood. David de Gea made a superb save on an El Shaarawy free kick and the Viola showed a pulse for the final 10ish minutes of the half (Gnonto got one in the net that was ruled out for a phantom offside) but on balance, it was Pioli/Grosso levels of bad.
Second half
Vanoli hooked Ranieri and Oulaï at the break and brought on Viery and Alieu Njie, pushing Mastantuono into the middle as a 10. Genoa sat off and Fagioli was able to run the show a bit, which led to improvement, sure, but never any real threat. The Viola did pull one back in comical fashion as Alex Jimenez’ cross took a big deflection off Johan Vásquez, leading to an own goal and a lifeline.
The Viola poured bodies forward and had a couple decent chances; Ndour blazed one over and was denied by Justin Bijlow. Genoa had a couple of somewhat dangerous counterattacks but mostly just held on and kicked anything that moved, picking up 5 cards in the final quarter hour. Even so, referee Fabio Maresca let a lot of stuff go by both teams, leading to an overly physical game that was not even a bit of fun to watch. Fiorentina did all the usual desperation stuff but couldn’t make it work and left the Luigi Ferraris with a well-deserved nothing.
Full time
Goals: Osmajić 7’ (ass. Ellertson), Messias 15’ (ass. Osmajić); Vásquez OG 73’
Cards: Traoré 74’, Vásquez 84’, Wiafe 85’, Vitinha 90’, Sabelli 90’+4; Ranieri 15’, Oulaï 21’, Viery 60’
Quick hits
-Maybe Fagioulaï is a functional pairing but it’s going to need a lot of work. They weren’t on the same page at any point.
-All-time horror show from Ranieri. It happens sometimes. On to the next one.
-Every good Fiorentina move featured Cher Ndour in the box. That’s not a coincidence. Fagioli and Oulaï are both allergic to the penalty area. Mastantuono never crashes the goal, preferring to lurk outside the area. Gnonto is very short. Cher’s the only non-striker target in open play.
-Jimenez scoring deflected goals is a funny bit but his passing is a real problem. I can’t count how many times he had a simple pass to a better player and ignored it to try the superstar ball, which never once came off. That’s the kind of guy you don’t want getting the lucky bounces because, in his mind, all his mistakes are justified because he’s getting the ball in the net.
-Beto getting his overhead kick attempt in as his final action before being subbed was very funny. It has to be a bit at this point, right?
-Tough to win when you put two (2) shots on target in a game where you’ve got 63% possession.
What’s next
Genoa jumps out of the relegation zone with its first win of the season and guess who drops down there? Yep, it’s Fiorentina, now sitting 18th with just 4 points from 6 games and a -7 goal difference. Paolo Vanoli’s got his work cut out for him. I wouldn’t be shocked if he made a lot of changes next week when the team’s back in the cozy confines of the Franchi to take on Como, which might be without Moise Kean. I dunno, man. Things don’t look great.
