Player grades
David de Gea—4: Made 2 routine saves but let Cristian Volpato’s slightly deflected effort squirm under him and got hung up on a blocker for Tarik Muharemović‘s header. Could’ve maybe done a bit more on Ismaël Koné‘s goal as well but I won’t hold that against him. Disappointing performance but he’s allowed an off day every once in awhile.
Luca Ranieri—5: Got the slight deflection the first goal but it shouldn’t have been enough to put de Gea off that much. Needed to step up and help against Volpato,
who beat Parisi like a drum. Got forward a couple times but was pretty anonymous throughout. The team’s blase attitude has him confused and he can’t figure out how to lift it.
Pablo Marí—4: Did a decent job keeping Andrea Pinamonti in check with his usual brand of overtly physical man-marking. Came close with a Facungo Roncagliesque drive in the second half. Completely MIA on the third goal, though, and his limitations are painfully obvious.
Pietro Comuzzo—5: Made a couple mistakes on the ball but was mostly solid enough, keeping Armand Laurienté relatively quiet. Still needs to improve in possession but at least tried to open space by getting forward down the right, even if nobody even pretended he’d get the ball in those moments.
Fabiano Parisi—5: Deserves credit for being brave enough to take Arijanet Murić’s big fists right to the face and win a penalty, but Volpato had him on toast all evening at the other end and Fabi didn’t do much else going forward, either.
Simon Sohm—4: The only time I noticed him was when Muharemović beat him in the air for the second goal. For such a physically impressive player, it’s very strange that you don’t feel him out there.
Nicolò Fagioli—4.5: Started fine but quickly devolved to his usual unambitious brand of distribution at the back. Dropped even with Marí to pick up the ball but didn’t do anything with it. Someone needs to tell him that being a regista isn’t just about circulating possession but ensuring it means something
Rolando Mandragora—6.5: Took the penalty well and found Kean with a clever free kick in the opening moments but that was about the extent of his positive influence. Lost track of Koné on the third goal, although I’d argue that’s more on Marí being 30 yards ahead of his fellow defenders.
Dodô—4: After watching him let a ball run under his foot and out to touch despite having nobody near him, I’ve diagnosed him with the yips. The only medicine is getting a team around him that isn’t awful, so he might be stuck like this for a long time.
Albert Guðmundsson—4.5: Dropped deep to pull the strings and made some positive passes but he was brought in to make a difference in the final third, which is where he turns into a ghost.
Moise Kean—4.5: Another game of almosts for the Moose. He really wanted to take the PK but Mandragora pulled rank; frankly, I’d have left it for Kean, hoping that a freebie would unblock him. Drifted in and out after that but mostly out as his teammates failed to get the ball forward, but he shoulders some of the blame as well for failing to do anything.
Cher Ndour—4.5: Charged around without ever accomplishing much but at least he’s trying out there. He’s not quite Serie A ready from a technical aspect, I don’t think, but his physical attributes and attitude are good. In a functional team, he’d be a breaking out.
Niccolò Fortini—4: Like Ndour, he’s trying. It’s his first Serie A season and he’s still testing the bounds of what he can and can’t do. I remain high on his long-term upside, even if the current performances don’t look great.
Roberto Piccoli—4: Ran around, fell down, did Piccoli stuff. Not a single touch in the penalty area. And the ball must fear moving towards his foot, as it’s like striking a concrete wall.
Mattia Viti—4: As soon as he came on, Koné scored after getting the entirety of that side of the pitch. It’s not all on Viti, of course (Marí‘s the primary culprit), but it’s hard not to feel like the two things weren’t related.
Christian Kouamé—n/a: It’s not like he’ll solve the goal-scoring problems but he’s well-known for being a great teammate so it was at least nice to see him make his return from another knee injury.
Three things we learned
1. I’ve been falling for so long it’s like gravity’s gone and I’m just floating
It’s time to bid your fond farewells to all the trappings of Serie A because you’re not going to enjoy them for much longer. Fiorentina is getting relegated this year. 14 straight games and, after Hellas Verona ambushed Atalanta yesterday, remains the only team in Serie A without a win. The Viola would have to average about 1.6 points per game the rest of the way to ensure survival, which is equivalent to the pace of a 60-point team; that’s the total Fiorentina finished with in its final year under Vincenzo Italiano.
If we’d seen a shred of evidence that this group had some untapped well of competence, I’d still believe. But when Paolo Vanoli spends his post-match presser talking about how there aren’t any tactical adjustments that could save this team, I tend to think it’s over. The only positive is that we’ve spend so much time in freefall that at least we can prepare ourselves for impact.
2. You ain’t going nowhere
If you, as a Fiorentina fan, are anything like me, also a Fiorentina fan, you felt a subdued excitement at Stefano Pioli’s departure. I’ll never forget the Piolus’ work to keep the team together in the aftermath of Davide Astori’s death, and there’s nothing that can delete that from my memory, but holy smokes did Pioli have a miserable 4 months.
Everything he did turned to ash under his hand. Every player who’d impressed under Raffaele Palladino—Moise Kean, Dodô, Nicolò Fagioli—regressed. All the guys who could’ve done more—Marin Pongračić, Pablo Marí, Albert Guðmundsson—did less under Pioli’s watch. Every new signing flopped. Coverciano should build a class around not doing what Pioli did, because the team went from scrappily competent to drearily hopeless.
When Pioli got the axe, we were all too beaten down to hope for very much. For me, the idea was that Vanoli would go into the dressing room, throw a couple hairdryers around, and whip these guys into shape. Instead, he’s fielded the exact same players that Pioli fielded, in the exact same roles, with the exact same instructions. I don’t want to dump on the new mister too much; he’s been dealt about as a bad a hand as anyone could’ve imagined. But we’re 5 games into the Vanoli Era and I cannot pick a single difference between his Fiorentina and Pioli’s. So why even bother firing someone?
3. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Like my last salsa director used to say, “If you’re slowing down …”
This one’s pretty simple. Rocco Commisso has owned Fiorentina since 2019. There’ve been plenty of highs since he bought the club. Ever since he attacked McMike in a press conference, I’ve been pretty anti-Rocco, but he’s pumped money into the team and let his subordinates cook. That’s all you can ask from an owner: sign the checks, make some bombastic statements to get the fans going, and then get out of the way.
For any number of reasons, though, Commisso’s absence has been palpable over the past few years. It’s been a long time since we got a fire and brimstone presser from the Mediacom mogul. I get that he’s less involved since Joe Barone’s death and I get that losing a close friend and confidante is hard, but it’s glaringly obvious that there’s no accountability at Fiorentina, and that starts at the top. If Commisso isn’t willing to do the necessary work to make this thing function, he needs to sell the organization to someone who is.
