Late news
Paolo Vanoli was forced to use a very weird setup due to injuries to all his fullbacks except for Robin Gosens, who started on the left. Pietro Comuzzo awkwardly did the job at rightback with Jack Harrison dropping in to help sometimes from the wing. Giovanni Fabbian was the surprise pick in midfield. Moise Kean was fit enough to start despite a tibia issue but Manor Solomon only made the bench, leaving Albert Guðmundsson to roam around sort of maybe on the left? Kind of? It was a bit of a mess.
Even without any traveling fans, though, the Scaligeri created the sort of welcoming environment you’d expect from the twinned teams. The banner reads, “Verona last place? You like to win easily! A thousand gin and tonics for the Curva Fiesole!” It’s a very kind callback to the gallows humor the Viola ultras displayed last time these two met: “Whoever comes last pays for the beers!”
First half
Despite that, Fiorentina started well by getting midfielders running over the top, resulting in Nicolò Fagioli’s lovely volley cracking off the crossbar just 4 minutes in. It didn’t last, though, as the Viola failed to get to grips with the game, rarely entering the final third and getting turned over in the buildup phase time and again without putting a shot on frame. Verona’s pressing was good and created numerous chances but David de Gea was very sharp, making 6 saves in the half. He was the only player who looked decent. Really, everyone else was pretty disappointing. As a spectacle, well, it soon became clear why both sides are near the bottom of the table, but you’d be forgiving for thinking it was Fiorentina that was being inexorably drawn down the drain.
Second half
Neither side made any changes and neither side made any progress either. Verona kept the screws on Fiorentina, who continued bending, bending, bending without ever quite breaking, although that was more down to the lack of quality from the Gialloblù than anything the Viola did. Vanoli brought on Roberto Piccoli, switching to a 4-4-2, but it backfired badly as the Scaligeri used their numerical advantage to pin the visitors deep. Tempers boiled over as Fagioli went down, arguing with Roberto Gagliardini and Paolo Sammarco, but Beans got the last laugh. From the drop ball, Fiorentina won possession and broke forward. After a fortunate bounce, the ball found Fagioli at the top of the box and he curled it home for a late winner.
We were far from done with the drama, though. Verona duly hurled bodies forward and even won a free kick on the edge of the box. Guðmundsson and Tomáš Suslov got into a shoving match that escalated; while neither bantamweight threw a punch, they both wound up with ripped shirts. Once the dust had settled, Marco Guida sent them both off and the game somewhat petered out from there.
Full time
Goals: Fagioli 82’ (ass. Harrison)
Cards: Gagliardini 17’, Nelsson 79’, Suslov 86’, Belghali 89’; Fagioli 85’, Guðmundsson red card 86’
What we learned
-Pietro Comuzzo sure isn’t a rightback. His technical limitations are obvious and he doesn’t have the pace or awareness to shut down the wing. Credit to him for putting in a shift but this is clearly an emergency measure. I still can’t understand why Eddy Kouadio can’t get a sniff after some decent moments early in the season.
-Harrison got the assist but I can’t recall him beating his man once. He’s got an engine on him for sure but the Former Gatorade Player of the Year is about as impactful as Rachid Ghezzal.
-Vanoli’s subs confused me. Ndour played 2 90-minute games with the Italy U21s and went the distance here as well; I thought that his lack of legs was obvious in the first half especially, when his touch and decision making were bad. Picking Jacopo Fazzini over Marco Brescianini is also a choice.
-Opponents have figured out de Gea’s unwillingness to come off his line at corners and are targeting it. Verona played every corner to the back post to test the keeper’s maneuverability in a crowd. He actually did well, coming to punch a couple, but expect everyone to keep testing that weakness.
-A win’s a win. An away win is an away win. An away win without any rightbacks, a key midfielder, and your best winger is just fine. But let’s not think about it any more because I don’t want to keep a single moment from that one in my memory bank. Horrible game to watch.
What’s next
The win vaults Fiorentina past Cagliari and into a lofty 15th place with 32 points. There are 7 games left and that is plenty of time for a meltdown—5 points is nothing—but this felt like rung summited on the ladder of survival. Vanoli deserves a lot of credit for turning this team around but he won’t get it, mostly because he’s paying the check for a meal that Stefano Pioli already chucked at the walls.
There’s still plenty of ladder left, though, beginning with the long flight to London for a Conference League quartefinal with Crystal Palace on Thursday. The Eagles have struggled of late but will absolutely dismantle a Fiorentina that plays this way. Hopefully Kean, Dodô, Solomon, and Mandragora are ready to go because otherwise the return leg will be a formality. Adding to the trickiness is a Monday matchup against Lazio; while the extra rest day helps, Maurizio Sarri’s boys will doubtless be raring to go in hopes of sneaking into Europe. It just never gets easier.
