The beginning of the match was cautious, both teams mainly tried not to spoil anything, so dangerous actions did not appear for a long time.
The packed stands of the Pilsen stadium drove Viktoria players to attack. In it, the Sick tried his hardest. The latter first found a completely free Řezník in front of the opponent’s goal, but he sent the ball high over the goal of Fiorentina. Then Chorý himself ran into a cross from the high-running goalkeeper Jedlička, but the stopper of the Italian team headed the high ball a moment earlier.
After an action with Šulec, Vydra got to the ball in a decent chance, but narrowly missed the right post of the visiting team’s goal.
It wasn’t until half an hour into the game that his players began to gain ground with a quick combination when they moved into Victoria’s half. There, however, a concentrated Pilsen defense was waiting, in which striker Chorý was the most forward, but even he was a maximum of thirty meters from his own goal. Fiorentina tightened the screws, but tried in vain to surprise with vertical passes on the ground or high crosses in front of Jedliček’s goal.
Even after the break, Fiorentina started actively, holding the ball, pressing into the attack. While Viktoria mainly tried not to let her players have a chance and launched quick counterattacks.
Fiorentina spent the first twenty minutes of the second half in front of Victoria’s penalty area, but did not get anything out of it. Only when the Italian fans threw a few flares on the lawn and the referee interrupted the game for a few minutes, the Pilsen team started to be active going forward. Chorý even had a chance, but missed the shot from the corner of the opponent’s goal.
Barák, the only Czech representative in the Italian team, was already on the pitch from the 70th minute. He entered the match mainly with several fouls and he did not change anything in the goalless draw.
Coach Miroslav Koubek, who for various reasons had a very narrow squad at his disposal after the game, was satisfied. “I appreciate the way the team managed the things we worked on during the week. With such a top opponent and the strongest team on the ball in the Italian league, adherence to tactics is a vital necessity. Of course we have two phases, there is also an attacking phase. I think that we were able to score a goal today if we had solved some transition phases better. I respect Radim Řezník’s performance tremendously. He has not had an easy time all year, he knows that his contract is ending and he is leaving Pilsen. He used his size and moral credit. We did not win anything, it’s 0-0 and we’re going to Florence. The second leg will undoubtedly be tougher.”
His counterpart, Vincenzo Italiano, especially praised Pilsen’s defense. “Pilsen played fast, their defenders showed an excellent performance. It’s their style, they went far with it, in the previous round they went all the way to penalties. In matches like this, it’s about one shot, one one-on-one action. To score a goal against a team, who plays like that is difficult. We wanted to play a match with a positive result, which we quite succeeded in. We wanted to win, but on the other hand, we didn’t lose. We still have the second game ahead of us. I think the opponent will play the same way and we have to show more offensively. We have to be bolder up front. I’m confident we can do it in the return game.”
