Rapid Vienna 1-0 Fiorentina
Scorer: 34′ pt Grull (penalty).
RAPID VIENNA (4-2-3-1): Hedl 6; Schick 6, Querfeld 6.5, M.Hofmann 6.5, Auer 6 (46’st Moormann sv); Oswald 6 (25’st Kuhn 6), Kerschbaum 6.5; Sattlberger 6.5, Seidl 6.5 (46’st Greil sv), Grull 7 (36’st Bajic sv); Burgstaller 6. On the bench: Unger, Gartler, Strunz, Mayulu, Sollbauer, Koscelnik, Kaygin, Bajlicz. Coach: Barisic 6.5.
FIORENTINA (4-2-3-1): Terracciano 5; Dodò 5.5, Milenkovic 6, Ranieri 6 (35’st Quarta sv), Biraghi 6; Arthur 5.5, Mandragora 5 (35’st Duncan sv); Gonzalez 6, Bonaventura 5.5 (25’st Infantino 6), Brekalo 5 (12’st Sottil 6); Nzola 5.5 (35’st Beltran sv). On the bench: Christensen, Mina, Comuzzo, Parisi, Amatucci, Kouame, Kokorin. Coach: Italian 5.5.
REFEREE: Pajac (Croatia) 6.
NOTE: Spectators: about 20 thousand. Ammonites: Hofmann, Barisic, Schick, Mandragora, Bonaventura, Niccolini. Corners: 6-3 for Fiorentina. Recovery: 3′ pt, 6′ st.
Fiorentina’s new European adventure is off to a bad start. In the first Conference League match, the Viola were beaten 1-0 by Rapid in Vienna. The goal from a penalty scored by Grull in the 35th minute of the first half was decisive. In the first leg match of the Conference League play-offs, held at the Allianz Stadion, the performance of the Tuscans was somewhat disappointing, while the team coached by Barisic showed better physical condition, making the most of the goal scored from the penalty spot. The impact of the Viola in the match was positive with a couple of crosses from Dodò from the right which were not exploited by Nzola, and with a header by Nico Gonzalez from a corner by Biraghi who found Hedl ready to save. But as the minutes go by, the lilies lose ground, also and above all due to the disappointing performance of the Arthur-Mandragora couple with the latter who, among other things, is the culprit of the clear hold in the area on Hofmann which leads the referee Pajac to assign a penalty to Rapid Vienna: Grull made no mistake from the penalty spot. The difficulty in Terracciano’s foot kicks is constant while the performance of a large part of the starting team sent onto the field by Vincenzo Italiano is disheartening in which only Nico Gonzalez is saved, but he can do little by himself. A reaction from the guests is expected in the second half but Fiorentina, while dominating in de facto ball possession, never show themselves from Hedl’s side who is in fact inactive. Ineffective the entries into the field before Sottil and then Infantino with the Austrians who control and try to restart but with a very cautious attitude. In the final ten minutes, Beltran was also in for Nzola, who appeared subdued. Fiorentina only came close to scoring in the 90th minute when Beltran and then Infantino wereted in front of Rapid’s goal. In the second leg – scheduled for next Thursday at «Franchi» – Biraghi and his teammates will need a victory with at least two goals difference for the next round to go through.