The first leg of the second semi-final of the Italian Cup on the pitch, Fiorentina-Atalanta 1-0 LIVE. Goal by Mandragora in the 31st minute.
Eve:
Slipped to tenth place in the standings after the home defeat against Milan and the successes of their rivals in the last round of the championship, the Fiorentina he dives into the Italian Cup to try to start again and try through this competition (the Conference will be another) to reach Europe and possibly with a trophy. Thus the first leg of the semi-final against Atalanta tomorrow at the Franchi, in a match in memory of the Viola general manager Joe Barone who passed away on 19 March due to an illness that struck him a few hours before the championship match with the Nerazzurri in Bergamo, becomes a fundamental stage in the hitherto discontinuous path of Vincenzo Italiano’s team.
“There is a lot of pride in the progress made so far in a competition in which we are once again protagonists – declared the Viola coach through the club’s channels – and we want to try to season it with something extraordinary.
However, Atalanta is a strong, healthy team, as always it will be a battle in which we will have to be ready and try to be perfect between the first and second legs.” Last year Fiorentina managed to reach the final and then lost 2-1 with Inter, same result as the one lost a few days later in the Conference League against West Ham.
“Do you want revenge? The path in the cups is always complicated – sighed the Italian who is increasingly close to Napoli for the future – When you are in the semi-finals you have to make as few mistakes as possible and have concreteness in attack”. The public will once again prove to be decisive in what it says about him, with twenty thousand tickets sold so far. “When our fans start to push, they give us the energy to go beyond our limits. With their support, everyone gives everything, their best. I hope that tomorrow evening there will be many pushing us to help us achieve a great result” .
Both Jack Bonaventura, back from suspension, and goalkeeper Christensen are back at the coach’s disposal after a long stop following knee surgery. The only Viola currently in doubt, as the coach explained, is Martinez Quarta, who is still dealing with some ailments: Ranieri is a candidate in his place while the Brazilian Arthur could return to midfield after his recent exclusion with Milan . Nico Gonzalez is always among the most awaited Viola players, looking for a goal to relaunch themselves after a gray period.
L’Atalantain the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina, a repeat of the 2019 pass for the first of two Gian Piero Gasperini finals against Lazio and Juventus, he is struggling with his first goal of the season.
“A ‘feasible’ trophy and the only one won by the club, way back in 1963 – the premise of the Nerazzurri coach on the eve -. I never believed I could compete for the Champions League, even if qualifying gives economic advantages, nor for the scudetto against teams that score 90 or 100 points.”
The Bergamo team suffered two defections on the pitch and one due to a two-match disqualification of their own technical manager, who was sent off towards the end of the first half in the previous qualifying round on 10 January at San Siro.
“You can see better from the stands, a friend like Tullio Gritti goes on the bench. It’s sad to have to miss both matches due to the events in the quarter-final with Milan, in which I requested the intervention of the VAR for the clash in the area due to head trauma between Gabbia and De Roon”, recalls Gasperini.
“Scalvini will have it for a few weeks, but it was thought that the season was at risk. For De Ketelaere we will talk about it again in view of Cagliari”, added the Nerazzurri coach.
One accustomed to living on certainties: “Aside from the solidity of men who perform well with great continuity, like Hien who in January completed a defense that was then in difficulty, the attackers are making the difference and must continue to make it.”
In addition to the Belgian, quotes for the protagonists in the 3-0 in Naples last Saturday, Miranchuk and Scamacca, as well as for Lookman, “while we wait for Touré, who scored twice in two games against Mali”, without bothering Koopmeiners who returns from the 1st minute behind the strikers in the consolidated 3-4-1-2.
Compared to the thirtieth of the championship, Holm and Ruggeri are booked in the lane in place of Hateboer and Zappacosta, while the cup goalkeeper Musso should take a place between the posts in place of Carnesecchi “who makes decisive saves, but should put softener on his feet” , jokes Gasperini.
“I keep doubts in two or three roles,” the addition of the man in command. Who behind him has almost obligatory choices like Djimsiti and Kolasinac. The rest is a combination of numbers and pride: “We are in the fourth semi-final of the Italian Cup in the last six years. And in April, of all the Italian teams, only Fiorentina and we are competing on three fronts.”
With the Viola, the Bergamo players also have the precedent of the double final lost in 1996 and, more recently, the elimination in 2020 and 2022, respectively in the round of 16 in Florence and in the quarter-final in Bergamo in a one-off match.
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2024-04-03 19:39:00
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