Pre-match
Stefano Pioli changed his team up quite a bit, sending out what looked like a 4-4-2 on paper but was in practice something more fluid. Tariq Lamptey made his first Fiorentina start with Dodô getting a strange, almost free roaming role.
First half
Fiorentina got out to a flying start. Moise Kean won a free kick just outside the area and Rolando Mandragora mashed it into the wall but then mashed the rebound into the back of the net. For a side that had struggled through its first few games in search of an identity,
it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The hosts kept it up, creating a succession of good chances. Kean fired one over the bar while Roberto Piccoli wasted a couple with a misplaced cross and a wayward header. It wasn’t the on-ball work that impressed, though, so much as the off-ball stuff: the Viola were fantastic at pressing high and throwing the Lariani off their game. It was very impressive stuff, especially since this was a new shape and new lineup. Como had a couple of looks, including a pillow-soft PK that was eventually turned into a FK.
Second half
Cesc Fabregas added pace (Jesus Rodríguez at the half, Jayden Addaiat the hour mark) and Fiorentina, already ragged from a lot of running in the first half, couldn’t cope. With the front line failing to cut off the supply, the defense was left exposed and the visitors initiated bombardment, racking up 14 shots to 2 from the hosts. Even more insulting is that the equalizer came from the simplest situation: Nico Paz swung a free kick into the back post and Marc Oliver Kempf headed it home, moments after Nicolò Fagioli and Simon Sohm replaced Mandragora and Jacop Fazzini, which felt meaningful.
There was no fightback despite the raucous crowd at the Franchi urging the Viola on. It didn’t help that inexperienced referee Kevin Bonacina had a very poor performance but blaming him for the whole thing misses the point, and the point is that Fiorentina was very bad. Como created a succession of chances—David de Gea made a couple good stops—and kept the ball in dangerous areas for most of the 45 minutes. Kean had a decent look late on but, when he failed to capitalize, that old familiar dread settled over everyone, and sure enough, Addai pantsed Marin Pongračić en route to scoring deep into stoppage time.
Full time
Goals: Mandragora 6’; Kempf 65’ (ass. Paz), Addai 90’+3 (ass. Paz)
Cards: Vojvoda 7’, Sergi Roberto 50’, Kempf 77’; Pongračić 30’, Ranieri 67’, Dodô 87’, Sohm 88’
What’s next
Well, Pioli’s going to go back to the drawing board. This game wasn’t all bad and was in fact halfway good, but halfway doesn’t cut it. We’ll see what he schemes up for next week’s derby at Pisa. It’s going to be a crazy atmosphere when these sides meet for the first time since 1994 and, if the Viola lay another egg, the mister might start worrying about his job. 2 points from 4 games is really bad.
To be clear, I don’t think that firing Pioli will fix anything right now. It’s still early and knee jerk reactions are generally bad and stupid. But if this group can’t arrest its freefall, it’s going to hit terminal velocity sooner rather than later.
