Fiorentina drew 1-1 in the second leg of the semi-final of the Conference League in Bruges and progressed to the final thanks to the lead from the opening match. Despite the offensive superiority of the Fialek, the Belgian team took the lead in the 20th minute thanks to Hans Vanaken, who brilliantly followed up the strike from the first power play. However, the golden goal for the team from Florence was scored by Lucas Beltrán from the penalty spot in the 85th minute after a lot of pressure. The Italian team will thus play for the trophy of the third most important European cup for the second year in a row.
The players of the ninth-ranked team in the Italian top league significantly outshot Bruges in the initial test of strength, but the final score was not so clear-cut. Last year’s finalists were finally given a one-goal lead only in the 91st minute by substitute M’Bala Nzola. However, the Violets could not write off the Belgian representative, as the hesitation in Florence was his only stumble in the last month.
After the initial pressure, Fiorentina relented and were punished for it already in the 20th minute, when a quick counter-attack ended with a goal by Vanaken’s originally centered ball. The visitors almost came up with a lightning reply when goalkeeper Simon Mignolet first caught Nicolás González in a great position and Andrea Belotti’s subsequent shot went just wide of the left post.
Half an hour before the game, Michal Skóraš could have increased the lead, but he fell asleep in a tense situation and the ball was taken away by a defender at the last moment. In a very offensively tuned first act, Christian Kouamé flashed a rocket half-volley into the crossbar, from which the ball bounced directly onto the goal line, from where it returned to the field, and the Belgians went to the cabins with only a narrow lead.
The balanced overall state of the series did not contribute to the continuation of the offensive throws, and after returning from the cabins, the teams only made lunges from a secured defense. Fiorentina gradually began to eat away at the club from the land of chocolate in the area in front of the goal, and if it weren’t for Joel Ordóňez’s emergency header, the score could easily have been equalized by the lurking Dodô at the back post. In the 72nd minute, in addition to the fans of the home team, the goal structure was also shaken by Cristiano Biraghi’s free kick.
Moments later, Kouamé rang the right post and the blue-black defense was in complete disarray. In the 85th minute, the Violets were rewarded for their active performance when, after a rough foul in the penalty area, Beltrán faced the white dot, who sent the ball down the ground to the left post. In the late minutes of regulation, goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano showed great reflexes to cover Vanaken’s ground shot.
Although Bruges suffered only their second home defeat across competitions in the season, they did not slip into the final. On the other hand, it will include Fiorentina, who will face either Olympiakos or Aston Villa in Athens on May 29.
Tags: Report match Club Brugge ACF Fiorentina statistics report
