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Fiorentina is starting to look a little better every game. If you don't believe it, just look at the numbers, which are all from WhoScored.com. Maybe Paulo Sousa knows what he's doing, after all. Of course, it was a home game against a struggle Bologna (against whom Fiorentina have a pretty good recent record), but don't take this away from me, man. I need this.
Team Statistics
| Possession | Passes (short/long) | Passing success | Crosses/attempted | Dribbles/attempted | Shots (on target) | Shots inside/outside area | Tackles/attempted | Interceptions | Aerial duels won attempted | Fouls | Yellow/red cards | Corners | Offsides | |
| Fiorentina | 72% | 712 (609/66) | 88% | 8/36 | 5/17 | 18 (4) | 8/10 | 23/27 | 14 | 7/16 | 12 | 1/0 | 6 | 1 |
| Bologna | 28% | 284 (214/65) | 73% | 11/5 | 4/20 | 3 (1) | 1/2 | 21/26 | 28 | 9/16 | 15 | 2/0 | 0 | 3 |
Player Statistics
| Short passes/attempted | Long passes/attempted | Crosses/attempted | Dribbles/attempted | Shots (on target) | Shots inside/outside area | Touches | Possession lost | Tackles/attempted | Interceptions | Successful aerial battles | Fouls committed/suffered | Yellow/red cards | Offsides | Saves | Goals | Assists | Minutes | |
| Tatarusanu | 11/11 | 3/6 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 31 | 0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Roncaglia | 69/72 | 7/8 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 86 | 0 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Gonzalo | 70/74 | 9/13 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 1 (0) | 0/1 | 96 | 0 | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 2/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Astori | 82/82 | 7/10 | 1/1 | 0/1 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 100 | 2 | 1/1 | 2 | 0 | 1/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Alonso | 40/48 | 4/7 | 1/8 | 1/2 | 5 (1) | 2/3 | 81 | 1 | 2/3 | 3 | 3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| Badelj | 66/71 | 9/9 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 92 | 1 | 3/3 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Vecino | 81/91 | 7/9 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 4 (0) | 1/3 | 118 | 0 | 9/9 | 2 | 2 | 4/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| Valero | 35/37 | 0/1 | 1/9 | 1/2 | 2 (0) | 0/2 | 55 | 2 | 1/1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 |
| Blaszczykowski | 40/48 | 1/2 | 3/12 | 0/1 | 2 (1) | 2/0 | 72 | 5 | 0/1 | 2 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 |
| Rebic | 15/26 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 0/2 | 2 (0) | 2/0 | 42 | 2 | 3/3 | 2 | 0 | 2/1 | 1/red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 |
| Babacar | 4/8 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 11 | 2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
| Kalinic | 9/10 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1 (1) | 1/0 | 16 | 3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | Saves | Goals | Assists | 35 |
| Ilicic | 9/10 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1 (1) | 0/1 | 16 | 1 | 1/2 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Fernandez | 15/15 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 (0) | 0/0 | 17 | 1 | 1/1 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Conclusions
Definitely a tale of two halves, although in hindsight, that may have been intentional. Perhaps Paulo Sousa was trying the Vicente del Bosque trick of keeping possession for large swathes of time, tiring out the opponent, and then attacking when the defense is exhausted. Given Spain's most recent international performance, that's an iffy tactic, but at least could shed some light into the mister's thought process. His formation was also deceptive: supposedly a 3-5-2, it ended up looking more like a lopsided 4-2-4, as Borja Valero spent most of his time even with the strikers and Rebic moved to an inside left position.
Also, good lord, Matías Vecino. The Uruguayan was everywhere and involved in everything. It's easy to see why Napoli supposedly offered a big chunk of change for him; he's already looking like a fantastic do-everything midfielder, a sort of Vidal-lite but without the hair and the attitude. Borja Valero had a notable game too, but for different reasons; this is the least involved he's ever been in a purple shirt. The fact that Fiorentina could keep the ball and make chances without Valero substantially involved is a promising sign. Khouma Babacar was also painfully absent up front, although whether that was his fault or a lack of service is debatable. The team looked much better when Nikola Kalinic entered, but that could be because Sousa started urging them forward. And yes, la Viola won and dominated possession and chances, but can we start #freematigol already?
All in all, a good, if somewhat aesthetically unappealing, win. Now on to league leaders Inter and a chance to go top of the table.