Player grades
David de Gea—9: None of the goals were his fault and he made 5 saves ranging from very good to utterly incredible. What a waste of a vintage, spectacular performance.
Mattia Viti—3: Got put in a bad situation
on his red card by Fazzini’s failure to deal with a bouncing ball but he needs to be smarter; when it’s 2-0 in the 85th minute, getting sent off doesn’t help anything. Otherwise, he was as shaky as everyone else but at least made some stuff happen on the ball, leading the team in progressive passes and passes into the final third.
Pablo Marí—5: With Fiorentina pinned into its own box for the most part, his job was very simple and he did it brutishly but well enough, somehow not getting called for a single foul. This was more about context than improvement, though, so don’t expect him to continue playing well.
Pietro Comuzzo—3.5: Rinsed by Petar Sučić on the 2nd goal and extraordinarily lucky not to concede a penalty (that’s 2 games in a row the Viola have been let off the hook, by the way). Threw himself around but was clearly a step off the pace. That’s no surprise considering how little he’s played; this was his first Serie A start in a month and a half and he has zero rhythm.
Robin Gosens—5: Won a couple of headers, kept Denzel Dumfries quiet enough despite some wobbles, and stayed as involved as he could, but his defensive responsibilities meant his influence at the other end was minimal.
Cher Ndour—6: For the first hour, he was Fiorentina’s best outfield player. Defended well and even created some chances with his energy and physicality. The final pass is always an adventure with him but you can see the outline of a really good player in there and that, at least, is exciting.
Rolando Mandragora—5: Can’t fault Roly’s effort as he lurched all across the pitch, trying to put out fires and key attacking moves. His physical limitations, particularly in a deeper midfield role, were put on clear display on Sučić’s goal, though. Despite his endeavor, he’s just not suited for that job.
Simon Sohm—4.5: Like Comuzzo, it was his first start in a month and a half so the obvious rust was inexcusable. Provided muscle and running, particularly out of possession, and helped frustrate Inter while he was out there, but his limitations on the ball won’t go away even when he rediscovers his form.
Dodô—4.5: Had a couple of trademark bursts forward and won possession more than anyone else on the team but also got out-quicked by the lumbering Federico Dimarco in the first half and didn’t make any attacking impact, although that was as much tactical as anything he did.
Albert Guðmundsson—4: Played as an extra holding midfielder for the first half and helped gum up the works a bit. Showed a little grit, throwing himself around in a way that I found hilarious due to his wispiness, although he was also lucky not to concede a penalty in the first 5 minutes. His influence going forward was invisible.
Moise Kean—4: Won some fouls and gave Inter’s defense a few headaches with his pace in behind but didn’t strike any of his 4 shots all that well. The team context makes a difference, of course, but it’s fair to wonder if last year was the high ceiling and his usual level is a lot lower; the underlying numbers look good but he’s significantly under-performing them.
Nicolò Fagioli—4.5: Wasn’t good defensively but played several good balls in for Kean and, on a better day, could’ve had an assist or two.
Jacopo Fazzini—4: Lost Hakan Çalhanoglu on the first goal within 2 minutes of coming on and failed to deal with the high ball that led to Viti’s red card and Inter’s third goal. Oof.
Edin Džeko—4.5: Was fun to see him back at the San Siro, I guess, if your definition of fun is very loose. Helped circulate the ball a bit but was mostly uninvolved.
Niccolò Fortini—4.5: Didn’t do much but he was tossed out for 13 minutes with his side already down at the San Siro.
Three things we learned
1. A little too heavy for my size
I’m skeptical of assigning any direct correlation here but it’s worth pointing out that, with Sohm and Ndour as the mezzale, Fiorentina had a couple of big, strong, and athletic guys to fly around midfield and put out fires. They didn’t win the ball much but their mobility allowed them muck things up for Inter; it’s worth pointing out that the Nerazzuri only had 2 chances in the first half and both came from defenders.
Inter adjusted at the break and turned up the intensity and, if we’re being honest with ourselves, they were always going to score eventually. Swapping Fagioli in for Sohm made some sense and Nicky Beans did create some stuff but the downgrade in physicality was stark. If Fiorentina’s plan is to park the bus, having these big, active guys in the middle is necessary. Maybe Hans Nicolussi Caviglia can fill in there too, because Fagioli is a bit lightweight for that approach.
2. Would you keep on going if you couldn’t make it through
Fiorentina was born in 1926 when local fascist authorities merged CS Firenze and PG Libertas. The new club scrapped its way into the newly-formed Divisione Nazionale after a couple years in regional leagues and shat the bed, winning just 5 games and finishing last with a -70 goal difference.
In 1937-1938, the Viola had been in Serie A for 7 years and looked to be consolidating their position as a stable mid-table outfit before a pathetic showing sent them back to Serie B: 3 wins and a -32 goal difference was again good for last. In 2000-2001, amidst Vittorio Cecchi Gori’s financial mismanagement, the team slumped to 5 wins, a -34 goal difference, and a single win after the new year; that ended, of course, with the dissolution of the entire organization and eventual reconstitution in Serie C2.
What I’m saying is that Fiorentina’s had some truly atrocious teams, teams that were overmatched from the opening kickoff in match week 1, teams that were aggressively incompetent. All of them earned the indignity of relegation. And all of them started the season better than this year’s Fiorentina. 9 straight without a win is a milestone in the history of futility for a club that has often been futile.
3. It’s only a matter of who, and it’s only a matter of when
It would’ve taken a miracle for Fiorentina to win this one, but even if it had, you have to think that it wouldn’t have mattered for Stefano Pioli. As it is, he’s as good as gone. Every outlet led today off with stories of potential replacements: Paolo Vanoli and Daniele de Rossi look like the frontrunners at the moment but you can’t ever rule out Beppe Iachini, and there are plenty of other out-of-work managers who specialize in stabilizing and consolidating, which is what this team needs.
Whatever pap Daniele Pradè and Rocco Commisso feed us—“the team needs continuity, the coach is the right man for the job, we still trust him completely”—everyone knows its Pi-over. He’ll probably hang on until the international break in a lame duck capacity because it doesn’t make sense to sack him without a replacement, but he’s done. Given Rocco’s aversion to firing anyone, maybe 3 big wins against Lecce, Mainz, and Genoa would buy Pioli another month, but I doubt it. I’ve got nothing but respect for Pioli as a person and wish him nothing but the best but this ribollita’s been reheated one too many times.
