ATHENS (GREECE) (ITALPRESS) – Athens once again proves to be an unlucky city for Fiorentina. Palladino’s team, in fact, lost the first leg of the Conference round of 16 against Rui Vitoria’s Panathinaikos 3-2. At the Olympic Athletic Center, the goalscoring of Swiderski, Maksimovic and Tete gave the home team the success: Beltran and Fagioli, on the other hand, scored for Fiorentina. A bitter return, then, for the Viola in the Greek capital, ten months after the final lost to Olympiakos. An insufficient second half and many individual mistakes condemned the guests to the knockout. Pana confirmed itself as a qualitatively decent but “dancing” team in the defensive phase. The many injuries in the defensive department complicate even more the situation of the Greeks with Ingason, the only central role player available. Fiorentina’s main lineup changes, however, are the return of Kean to the starting lineup and the presence of Terracciano between the posts.
The first half was a whirlwind of emotions, abetted by defensive amnesias on both sides. Fiorentina got off to a very bad start and, after just five minutes, already found themselves down in the score. Unlocking the result is former Verona player Swiderski, whose conclusion takes a mocking trajectory that leaves no chance for the blameless Terracciano. The purple goalkeeper, however, is the negative protagonist on the occasion of the Greeks’ double on 19′, failing to hold back Duricic’s conclusion and allowing Maksimovic to make it 2-0 with an easy tap-in. It looks like a bad night for Fiorentina, but the reaction is like a great team. One minute passes, in fact, and Beltran immediately shortens the gap. Three minutes later here comes also the 2-2 goal, scored by Fagioli, whose first-intention shot, deflected by Arao, displaces Dragowski (great ex of the match, having played six years in Florence). At the end of the fraction the Var cancelled out the goal of the potential overtake to Moreno, who was pinched with a foot in offside.
In the second half came the counter-reaction of Panathinaikos, which on the counter-attack took advantage of yet another lurch in the Tuscan rearguard. At 55′, Tete slotted into the box and sealed the 3-2, thanks to a precise conclusion at the far post. A rather haphazard and lackluster Fiorentina now struggled to reproduce the good things it had shown since midway through the first half. At 83′ Duricic came close to scoring the fourth goal, hitting the post. The second half is more choppy partly as a result of the Hellenic’s repeated time wasters not sanctioned by the Belgian whistle. The final is devoid of chances. The return match is scheduled at the “Franchi” next Thursday at 9 p.m.
-Photo Ipa/Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
