How’s it going on guys and welcome back to the ABTFM blog. Today, we are back with another chapter of the Fiorentina Journey. In the last chapter, we signed two great players – Ryan Gravenberch and Amadou Haidara. It is always nice to have new players coming in, and I’m definitely looking forward to their performance on the pitch. Anyways, we are now at the second half of the season. We are facing a couple of big teams in this chapter and hopefully we can deliver good performance against them. Without further ado, let’s jump straight in to the Fiorentina Journey.
Italian Cup Semi-Final 1st leg
The first opponent is Diego Simeone’s Inter Milan. We are playing the 1st leg of the Italian Cup Semi-Final at Giuseppe Meazza. Of course, I am expecting a tough game against Inter. So, we are going to play our best 11 in this game. Ryan Gravenberch is starting in the central midfielder position, replacing Weston McKennie. Let’s see how he performs.
We won the first leg against Inter with 1 crucial away goal! I think both side played really well in this game, however, both of us couldn’t score a goal until the 94th minute. Dusan Vlahovic, once again, was our hero. In the 92nd minute, Inter’s Danny van de Beek picked up a yellow card and we were awarded with a freekick. Cristiano Biraghi crossed the ball to the far post. Ryan Gravenberch won the header and Dusan Vlahovic picked up the loose ball and scored the winning goal. Ryan Gravenberch got his first assist in Fiorentina shirt. Overall, massive win in the first leg.
vs Lazio
After a sweet win against Inter, we are back to the league game against Lazio. Unfortunately, Nicola Tagliaferri is out for a few days after picking up an injury in the training session. Riccardo Sottil replaces Nicola Tagliaferri playing on the left side.
We lost the game 4-0 against Lazio! Not only we failed to score a single goal, we conceded 4 goals, with Ciro Immobile scored a hattrick against us! It was an unacceptable performance from us. Look at the player ratings, Rolando Mandragora was the highest rated player with only a 6.9. The whole team was playing lazily, especially the two central midfielders. Weston McKennie had a really bad game, made a mistake and allowed Ciro Immobile to score a sensational opener in the 43rd minute. I went all of attack in the 70th minute, trying to pick up a draw. However, we conceded 3 goals in 5 minutes. Manuel Lazzari scored at the 87th minute, Ciro Immobile scored the third goal in 89th minute, and completed his hattrick at the 92nd minute. Terrible performance!
vs Juventus
The next league game is against Juventus. In the first half of the season, we won 1-0 with Nicola Tagliaferri scored the only goal. In this game, I decide to replace Weston McKennie, due to the mistake he made last game, and starts Marco Benassi as the Box to Box midfielder. Ryan Gravenberch is once against starting for us in this game against Juventus.
Another massive win for us! We won the game 1-0, all thanks to Matteo Politano’s goal at the 47th minute. Cristiano Biraghi put in a beautiful cross to the penalty box, Matteo Politano won the header against Merih Demiral and scored the winning goal. Dusan Vlahovic had the chance to double up the lead but failed to beat Wojciech Szczesny in the penalty. The Polish goalkeeper also picked up the Man of The Match award as he made some amazing saves in this game. Nicola Tagliaferri provided 4 key passes and created 2 chances in this game. This kid just loves playing against Juventus.
Italian Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg
Back to the Italian Cup, we are going to play Inter again. With the crucial away goal in the first leg, I’m pretty confident to say we have a massive advantage in the 2nd leg. Our first-choice goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski is injured before the game, so Alban Lafont is going to start between the sticks.
We have done it! We are through to the final! We finished the game with a comfortable 2-0 win. Weston McKennie scored a banger at the 38th minute and picked up the Man of The Match award at the end of the game. In addition, Nicola Tagliaferri scored the winning goal at the 66th minute.
On the other side, Lazio beat Juventus in the Semi-Final, which means we are going to play against Lazio in the Cup Final. To be honest, I am not happy. Lazio has just battered us 4-0 in the league game and now we are going to face them in the Final. We have beat Juventus twice in the league, so I’d be more confident to play against Juventus in the Final. However, it is what it is. We are going to accept the fact that we are facing Lazio in the Cup Final. Hopefully, we fight hard in the final and take the trophy back home to our fans!
Unfortunately, there is a bad news. Thilo Kehrer, our one and only right back, is suspended in the Cup Final. He has picked up a couple of yellow cards in the cup games, which leads him to the automatic suspension. It is clearly a disappointment. Thilo Kehrer has been crucial for us in this season, and we don’t have a backup right back. However, we will see what we can do in the Final. For now, let’s focus in the league.
vs Inter
Back to the league, we are playing Inter again. It is a back-to-back game against them, and this time we are travelling to Giuseppe Meazza. Only one change is made in the starting 11. Marco Benassi comes in replacing Ricardo Saponara. Alban Lafont is still the starting goalkeeper in this game.
Unfortunately, this time, we could win the game! It was a 2-2 draw against Inter. Riccardo Orsolini, my former player in Lyon, scored twice against me. Two incredible individual goals, picking up the Man of The Match award as well at the end of the game. Matteo Politano scored a penalty in the 51st minute. Dusan Vlahovic scored at the 67th minute, just 1 minute after Orsolini scored his second goal. I went all out attack after Dusan’s goal, however, Inter defended really well and we failed to create chances against them.
League Table
The draw against Inter allows Napoli to climb above us in the league table. We are now sitting at the 2nd position with 57 points. Napoli are at the top of the league with only 1 point ahead of us. The third position is AC Milan with 56 points. Lazio and Inter are behind with 51 points. Atalanta are sitting at the 6th place with 46 points, 1 point ahead of Juventus and Parma.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is tough, however, considering this is the first season with Fiorentina, I’m very happy with my performance. I think the players also given me their 100% on the pitch. Remember, the aim is just to qualify for the Champions League next season. So, we will continue working hard and try our best to win the title.
I hope you guys enjoy reading the Fiorentina Journey and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @abt_fm to join the discussion of football. Also, do check out my other series in my blog like the Tactics Recreation and the Lyon Journey. Once again, thank you for your support and I will see you guys in the next chapter. Take care!
ABT Football Manager 