Pre-match
Paolo Vanoli did exactly what the fans wanted and started both Christ Inao Oulaï and Pedro Gonçalves, shifting to something more closely resembling a 4-2-3-1 with Pote as the 10 and Franco Mastantuono on the right. The Viola fans also pulled an unbelievable tifo out before kickoff, one that not even the whiniest of babies could possibly object to. Undici leoni, man. Superb.
First half
Despite the Bianconeri winning two corners
in the first 90 seconds and making everyone worry that this was going to be one-way traffic, the Viola got a corner of their own moments later and made it count. Pote swung one to the back post and Matteo Pellegrino thumped it home with that big noggin. Viery made a decent little blocking run but this one’s entirely on some woeful defending from the visitors. Doesn’t take anything away from the finish and the surge of joy, though.
Even though it felt like Fiorentina might’ve scored too early, the goal obviously gave the side confidence; Juve kept pushing forward but our plucky heroes never gave up and had a great chance to double the lead not long after but Mastantuono selfishly shot on the break instead of playing in Alieu Njie. The Bianconeri kept pushing and threatened mostly through set pieces, although David de Gea had to make a save on Juan Cabal’s drive. The equalizer came through Randal Kolo Muani, who’d already demonstrated that none of Fiorentina’s defenders had the pace to stick with him. He made poor Viery look a bit silly en route to setting up Nick Woltemade’s simple finish.
Juventus kept the pressure on from dead balls and insisted referee Andrea Colombo missed a Viery handball in the box despite replays showing it was clean, while Jhon Lucumí slipped over on the ball and Pellegrino set up Pote from close range only to see the winger completely flub his shot. Overall, I’d say the half tipped slightly Juve’s way, but only slightly. 1-1 felt like a fair reflection of those 45 minutes and only increased the excitement about the next 45.
Second half
I assumed Vanoli’s Fiorentina would sit deep and cling to a point with grim resolve but there was a bit more attacking intent than I’d expected. The early protagonist, though, was Oulaï, who nearly lost the plot and picked fights with half the Juve lineup. I half-expected him to get sent off and become the talking point but instead it was Alieu Njie scoring for the third straight game. Jimenez zipped a low ball towards the back post and it bobbled around in a crowd for what felt like an eternity before the Swede arrived and poked it home.
The Viola again had chances to put it out of reach. Mastantuono fired wide after some nice work by Ndour before Vanoli hooked Oulaï and Pote. Moments later, Juventus finally made one of its corners (1o already at that point) count as Bremer towered over Radu Drǎgușin to nod home. De Gea deserves at least as much blame, though, having started to come for the ball and then pulled out, leaving the Juve man with a simple finish.
The game descended into stop-start territory from there as both sides hacked the hell out of each other. Juve had another penalty shout when João Mário may have handled in the box, while Drǎgușin looked to have avenged Bremer’s goal by heading home a corner of his own but was thwarted by a soft but defensible foul call. The game grew increasingly ragged towards the end as both sides basically just sprinted back and forth into the box; Mastantuono, Brescianini, and Beto all had good looks, while Viery and de Gea proved impactful at the other end. When the triple blast came, shared spoils felt like the just result.
Full time
Goals: Pellegrino 4’ (ass. Pote), Njie 54’; Woltemade 32’ (ass. Kolo Muani), Bremer 66’ (ass. Douglas Luiz)
Cards: Oulaï 50’; Cabal 13’, Bremer 22’, Kolo Muani 73’
Quick hits
-The 4-2-3-1 with Oulaï and Pote looked very interesting. There were some issues as everyone figured out where they fit but I liked a lot of what I saw. I’d guess that this is the best option until further notice.
-Ndour can be awfully clunky on the ball but he does so much well off it that I’m more than willing to make that exchange. His ability to seamlessly fit into any midfield configuration is so useful.
-João Mário’s fine as a backup but Fabio Paratici should make leftback his number one priority in January pending Fabiano Parisi’s recovery. JM and Víctor Valdepeñas have been beaten way too easily. Maybe Luca Ranieri’s a solution but I expect an external option is the only long-term one.
-Presumably Mastantuono’s got a clause in his contract guaranteeing him a lot of playing time and he shows flashes of excellence but he has to figure out when to be selfish and when to use his teammates. He’s tipped vastly towards the former so far and it’s made the attack much worse than it ought to be.
-5 straight in Serie A without defeat against Juventus is a good streak. Fiorentina’s only done it once before (7 in a row from 1955 to 1958).
What’s next
Vanoli gets the full international break to work with his guys on the new shape and hopefully get Ranieri, Marin Pongračić, and Arthur Atta healthy. He has, for the second year in a row, started building some real momentum after a period of chaos following his mid-season appointment, but 5 points off Atalanta, Sassuolo, and Juve is rock solid. The Viola don’t climb another place and remain fixed at 15th with 9 points but don’t look like a pushover any more. We’ll find out when the break ends and the schedule serves up some cupcakes: at Monza, at Udinese, vs Parma, and at Cagliari.
