DIRECT FROM FLORENCE | They took the fierce defensive battle for the semi-finals of the Conference League to overtime, buried themselves in a defensive wall and survived incredible things in ten. At home, Fiorentina only broke Victoria’s resistance at the end, after a 2-0 win they are celebrating a well-deserved promotion. Coach Miroslav Koubek’s team ends on the European stage with their heads held high, Viktoria finished on the edge of absolute exhaustion. The bad taste remains from the fact that she did not get anything against the Italian opponent in two games.
Eight games, sixteen long halves, plus extra time with Servette and the subsequent start of extra time in Florence. The Pilsen players, led by the fantastic Martin Jedlička, thought that they would not get a goal in Europe for a really long time. But in Italy they resisted enormous pressure. They survived the chances and sticks in the first half, not the strict exclusion of Cadu after the intervention of VAR and lost 0:2.
While the home team joked in a circle during the break before extra time, Victoria’s players fell on the grass and tapped their exhausted legs. It was almost impossible to survive the next onslaught of a fresher favorite, who was also playing in a superior position. The West Bohemians had nowhere else to go, many of the players in the match were suffering from convulsions.
He decided a low-key corner from the left side. In a match of similar situations, Viktoria jumped the clouds. But this time the ball bounced on the edge of the goal to Nikolas González. He hit the balloon, Jedlička stretched, brought the ball, but only to the gallows. The home team celebrated and ended the long wait for a goal, captain Cristiano Biraghi added the certainty of progress with a second goal after an escape.
Viktoria did not lose fifteen games in the Conference League, including qualification, and earned the respect of a very unpleasant team. Against Fiorentina, however, she encountered a higher European level, which she was unable to face. On the way to the quarterfinals, she earned almost a quarter of a billion crowns, increased the coefficient and helped Czech football to the main stage of the Champions League. Which is certainly not enough.
“The trip through Europe was beautiful. We left with our heads held high, the boys deserve credit. Not only for the whole year, but also for this match,” coach Miroslav Koubek praised his team.
In Florence, however, she had no way to progress. From the first minutes she tasted a proper European carousel. Fiorentina stepped into it at the old home stand, continuing to apply similar pressure on the ball as they did in the match in Pilsen. And she added to the quality. Even before kick-off, there were reports from her camp that she sees the rematch as one of the most important games of the season. Which was visible on the field.
Viktoria often just kicked away, unable to keep up against a technically dominant opponent. Only thanks to the huge handle and the demon Martin Jedliček in the goal she kept a clean sheet for a long time. The xG statistic showed a value of 1.44 on the home side after halftime, the reality looked much worse for Pilsen.
Jedlička eliminated Belloti and Kouamé’s goals with brilliant saves. Kouamé’s bomb hit the crossbar, Belotti’s next finish stamped the post. The home team could easily lead by three, four nil, instead they watched the scoreboard in disbelief with a goalless score.
Fiorentina’s frantic raids stopped in the second half, but there was another, perhaps key moment. Cadu caught up with the escaping Dodo in a sprint and inadvertently stepped on his heel in front of the goal. The Spanish referee Jesús Manzano drew a yellow card in the 65th minute, but he ran to the monitor after the instructions into the headphones. It didn’t take long for the verdict to be reconsidered, with the Brazilian winger out after a strict VAR review.
“We tried to play a little more actively than at home, where we played a lot from the block. We wanted to attack higher, we were a bit more open. Fiorentina threw away chances, Jedlička helped us. In the second half we went back to a block that worked, but then a red card changed the game. Playing a thirty-minute setup at ten was beyond our strength,” Koubek acknowledged.
Plzeň played to the absolute limit of possible strength. The Italian favorite with Antonín Barák in the lineup, who came on in the 75th minute, finally converted the power play. Celebrating the semi-finals and ending Victoria’s successful European season.
Full special: Koubk’s masterpiece: Eight zeros and LM for the Czech Republic. Next step: contract and title fight?
Rematch of the quarter-finals of the European Conference League:
Goals
Homemade: 92. González, 108. Biraghi
Assemblies
Homemade: Terracciano – Dodo (88. Pharaoh), Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi (C) – Beltran (75. Barak), Melo (65. Lopez), Mandragora (91. L. Martinez) – Gonzalez (98. Sottil), Belotti (C) 88. Icon), Couame.
Guests: Jedlička – Hranáč, Hejda (C), Jemelka – Kopic (106. J. Mosquera), Cerv (90+4. I. Traoré), Kalvach (100. Dweh), Cadu – Šulc – Chorý (70. Rezník), Vydra (56. Clement).
Substitutes
Homemade: Christensen, Sottil, Lopez, Ikone, Infantino, Faraoni, Martinez, Duncan, Kayode, Comuzzo, Parisi, Barak
Guests: Tvrdoň, Baier, Paluska, Kliment, Traoré, Rezník, Mosquera, Dweh
Cards
Homemade: Ranieri
Guests: Cadu (no), Butcher
Referee
Manzano – Barbero, Nevado (ESP)
Stadium
Artemio Franchi Stadium, Florencie
Visit
19418 viewers
Lille – Aston Villa 2:1 po prodl. (2:1, 1:0), na pen. 3:4
Goals: 15. Yazici, 68. André – 87. Cash. First match 1:2, Aston Villa advanced.
PAOK Thessaloniki – Club Brugge 0:2 (0:2)
Goals: 33rd and 45th Jutglá. First match 0:1, Bruges advanced.
Fenerbahce Istanbul – Olympiakos Piraeus 1:0 po prodl. (1:0, 1:0), na pen. 2:3
Branka: 12. Coffee shop. ČK: 120.+4 Ntoi (Olympiakos). First match 2:3, advanced.Olympiakos.
Semi-finals (first legs on May 2, second legs on May 9):
Fiorentina – Bruggy, Aston Villa – Olympiakos Piraeus.
