Fiorentina beat Rfs 3-0 in Riga but qualify as second in their group and this will force them to face the playoffs in February against one of the teams relegated from the Europa League to move forward in the competition. To go directly to the second round, the Viola team had to hope that Basaksehir did not win in Istanbul against Hearts, instead the Turks overcame them 3-1, securing first place by virtue of a better goal difference in head-to-head matches. The Viola can complain about the 1-1 in the first leg with the Latvians at their Conference debut, but Vincenzo Italiano can still be satisfied with the team’s performance, with the fourth success in a row in the competition and the second away after that. obtained on Sunday in the championship at La Spezia. The three goals Fiorentina made them all in the first half closing without worries the practice, dominating from the first minute against modest opponents. The Viola took the field with the trident formed by Ikoné, Cabral and Saponara and with Mandragora in the median in place of Amrabat who remained in Florence together with the other injured Gonzalez in Sottil.
The surprise was the use of Terracciano on goal instead of Gollini always deployed in the last Conference matches, in defense of space for Quarta and Igor with Venuti (captain) and Terzic outside. From the point of view of the game and of the personality, Fiorentina’s approach to the match supported by almost 500 fans: from the very beginning he led the dances passing already at 7 ‘with a header from Barak on an assist from Saponara, for the Czech midfielder, already scored against the Latvians at the Franchi, third goal of the season and, curiosity, has achieved the number 100 of the Italian management.
Despite the great ball possession and the constant presence in the opposing half of the field, the Viola, who only risked once for a ball lost in the middle of the field (Ilic squashed in the 43rd minute just above the crossbar) found the goal again only in the final of time, first with Cabral freed from his heel by Barak – third center in a row for the Brazilian, 15 / o overall in the Conference League including last season -, then with a splendid shot from distance by Saponara who celebrated by running to embrace the trainer. In the second half, Italian also tried some new tactical solutions and inserted Zurkowski for Mandragora, the young Bianco and Distefano, at their debut in Conference, for Bonaventura and Ikoné. There were other occasions for the Viola to round off the result, especially with Barak and Jovic taking over from Cabral. But even Riga, taking advantage of a few moments of decline of the opponents, proudly created the possibility of scoring the goal of the flag, denied however by Terracciano with a couple of great interventions. The Latvians also managed to pass but the goal was canceled due to an obvious offside. At the final whistle the viola players ran to applause under the sector of their fans throwing the shirts. The European adventure, even for seconds, continues.
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