Pre-match
Neither Paolo did anything too crazy. Vanoli had injury doubts Nicolò Fagioli and Dodô from the word go, while Zanetti didn’t get Suat Serdar back from a knock and turned to Al-Musrati instead. The aesthetics were awful: Fiorentina came out wearing the new orange strip that looks like a goalkeeper kit, while Verona opted for grey. I firmly believe the gods punish teams for not wearing their real colors and this should be purple vs yellow. At least the fans knew the colors.
The sign, by the way, reads “Boys [ed. note: it’s in the Veneto dialect so it’s even more welcoming]: whoever comes last buys the drinks!” It was a wonderful bit of graveyard humor from one of Serie A’s best fanbases, a self-deprecating joke shared with a fanbase the tifosi have enjoyed a gemellaggio with since 1976.
First half
The visitors started better with Antoine Bernede hitting the bar after just 6 minutes after shaking Marin Pongračić in the box, but Fiorentina eventually put it together at least a little bit and got into the final third. The problem was figuring out what to do when it arrived there: the strategy was a series of poor crosses that failed to beat the first man and Hellas Verona always seemed ready to counterattack. Moise Kean had a couple good chances from balls over the top but couldn’t convert either. It was just before halftime that the Mastini struck: Nicolò Fagioli’s poor cross was dealt with, Luca Ranieri took a little nap, and Gift Orban strode half the pitch alone to slot home past David de Gea, whose effort didn’t really impress.
At least Kean gave us a bit of comedy before halftime by blocking a goal-bound Fagioli drive. It was the 2nd game running he’s found himself in the way of a teammate’s shot off a set piece. Nicky Beans was understandably frustrated but he had nothing on the fans who had to watch this pathetic performance.
Second half
Fiorentina had chances. Let the record reflect that. Luca Ranieri headed over from 4 yards out off a corner. Kean kept on swinging and and kept on missing, but at least got out of Fagioli’s way, although Lorenzo Montipò made the save. You’d be forgiven for believing that nobody wearing that hideous orange shirt would score, and you’d be right. Fortunately, the goal came from the visitors. Kean got in behind (again), shot (again), and had it saved (again), but this time the rebound caromed off poor Unai Nuñez and back past the goalkeeper.
It felt like the momentum had shifted towards the good guys although de Gea had to make a big save on Roberto Gagliardini’s powerful drive after a corner. Vanoli reshuffled to a back 4, and then changed more stuff. Perhaps that confusion was why Niccolò Fortini failed to mark Bernede well enough, allowing the mifielder to cut the ball back to an unmarked Orban to slam home at the near post, leaving de Gea flummoxed again. The Viola shrieked that the ball had crossed the endline before Bernede’s assist but VAR confirmed it hadn’t. Game. Set. Match.
Full time
Goals: Nuñez OG 69’ (nice); Orban 42’ (ass. Al-Musrati) 90’+3 (ass. Bernede)
Cards: Guðmundsson 36’; Niasse 25’, Frese 32’, Belghali 85’, Zanetti red card 85’, Nuñez 90’+5
What’s next
Fiorentina had a lot of chances and Vanoli will doubtless bemoan the results while backing the process, but we’ve got a large enough sample to know that this is what the team is: mistake-prone and fragile in both boxes. Losing this one leaves Fiorentina winless through the first 15 rounds of Serie A, which shouldn’t be possible but is. Handing Verona its second win of the season means that the Viola are fully 4 points behind 2nd-bottom Pisa.
I should say that the next 3 games (vs Udinese, at Parma, vs Cremonese) are must-wins, but it doesn’t matter. This game was a must-win and Fiorentina lost it. The only shot the team mustered after equalizing was an off-target free kick from Fagioli. Vanoli’s clearly got no idea how to fix what’s wrong; despite the positive messaging, he’s still doing the same stuff Stefano Pioli did and getting the same results. That’s partly on him and partly on the players but it’s more about organizational decay at every level.
You could see it in their eyes after the full time whistle. The players were uniformly expressionless, sporting the 1000-yard stare you only see on the faces of those who see destiny inexorably approaching, feel its hoofbeats deep within their hearts. It’s over. We’re past the point where this can be fixed. All we can do is laugh until the waves close over our heads. And probably buy our friends some drinks.
