Pre-match
Stefano Pioli scrapped the 4-4-2 from last week and returned to a 3-man defense with Pablo Marí instead of Pietro Comuzzo. Jacopo Fazzini retained his place over Nicolò Fagioli and Simon Sohm, while Albert Guðmundsson returned to the lineup for the first time in a month. If that sounds like the mister was scrambling for answers, well, yeah.
The off-pitch stuff overshadowed the on-pitch stuff, though. Fiorentina’s ultras called for a boycott of the game due to high ticket prices but still made the trip,
ostensibly to support their team but really so they could scrap with their hated rivals in the streets of Pisa.
First half
The Stadio Romeo Anconetani was the cauldron you’d expect and whipped the Nerazzurri into a frenzy; the hosts’ tempo was incredible, led by M’Bala Nzola, who played with a chip on his shoulder that we never saw during his time with Fiorentina. He headed off the bar within the first quarter hour and gave the defense a torrid time, helping Pisa pin the Viola deep and keep them off balance. And they sure did look off balance, struggling to get out of their own half as Pisa pressed them relentlessly. Moise Kean had a couple looks at goal and Hans Nicolussi Caviglia came close as well, but for the most part, it was Gilardino’s men in control.
Second half
The second half saw both teams decrease the tempo a bit, although they both continued to make chances, mostly bypassing the midfield. That was the right idea for Fiorentina, at least, because Nicolussi Caviglia and Jacopo Fazzini were quite bad. Kean got the ball in the net twice but both were correctly ruled offside. At the other end, Henrik Meister scored a Puskas contender but VAR determined he handled it, which felt unfair. That injustice got even stronger after Juan Cuadrado hit the upright and Marin Pongračić clearly blocked a shot with his arm but somehow got away with it, and Fiorentina eventually snuck away with a completely undeserved point.
Full time
Goals: woof
Cards: Kean 42’
What’s next
Not much time to sit and stew in this one because, joy of joys, the Conference League begins this week when Sigma arrives at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday. Under normal circumstances, I’d say that Fiorentina should dispatch a side that’s 7th in the Czech First League without too much difficulty, but we’re not currently held within normal circumstances. It’s easy to forecast another bad result in a season that’s contained nothing but.
For those keeping track at home, yep, that’s 5 winless games in Serie A for a grand total of 3 points. The draw here means that Fiorentina leapfrogs Hellas Verona but that’s about the coldest comfort imaginable. Something needs to change here because whatever this team is doing sure isn’t working and the evidence is right there on the pitch every Sunday.
