Viola Nation - Fiorentina vs Inter 2016A Fiorentina blog for Viola fanshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50059/viola-fav.png2016-02-15T00:43:19+01:00http://www.violanation.com/rss/stream/107479992016-02-15T00:43:19+01:002016-02-15T00:43:19+01:00Fiorentina 2-1 Inter: Match Recap
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<figcaption>Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Viola are now four points clear of Roberto Mancini's men</p> <p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><b>Fiorentina 2-1 Inter</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">In a huge weekend of Serie A action that also saw a top-of-the-table clash between <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/">Juventus</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a>, Fiorentina struck a decisive blow in race for the all-important third place behind those two title rivals. Inter - who came into this round of action just one-point behind the Viola - arrived at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in poor form having won just once in their last five matches.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Yet <span>Paulo Sousa</span> knew his side needed to alter their approach and started with a back four which included fit again <span>Marcos Alonso</span> in place of Manuel Pasqual. Federico Bernardeschi was once again pushed further up the pitch, and Matias Vecino played the holding midfield role in the absence of the injured <span>Milan Badelj</span>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 4-2-3-1 shape saw <span>Borja Valero</span> line up alongside him, with Bernardeschi, Cristian Tello and Josip Ilicic supporting Nikola Kalinic who played as a lone striker and the new-look formation certainly saw the hosts begin the match in impressive fashion.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><b><i>"We started really well and created many chances." - Borja Valero</i></b></p>
<p dir="ltr">The Viola attacked Samir Handanovic's goal from the outset, with Bernardeschi and Ilicic combining well, twice almost resulting in an opening goal. The best of those chances saw a perfect pull back from Bernardeschi find Ilicic, only for his shot to be denied by an excellent <span>Alex Telles</span> clearance off the line.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Handanovic saved his side from two further opportunities for the pair, saving at the near post from Bernardeschi and using his legs to stop another Ilicic shot.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><b><i>"It was tough to come back when conceding a goal like that, but this team never gives up and we proved it again." - Borja Valero</i></b></p>
<p>Despite the early chances, Fiorentina couldn't find the breakthrough and were punished by Inter who went on to score on the counter attack with their first shot of the game. Having been widely criticised in the media, it was a neat through ball from <span>Geoffrey Kondogbia</span> that sparked the move, the Frenchman picking out Rodrigo Palacio's run.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">1 - Inter found the net with their first shot on target when Fiorentina had already attempted three. Cynicism.</p>
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/OptaPaolo/status/698968180383940608">February 14, 2016</a>
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<p dir="ltr">Collecting the pass as he reached the byline, the 34 year old then picked out the totally unmarked Marcelo Brozovic who made no mistake from around twelve yards, but Sousa will be furious with the defensive lapse from his side.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Conceding against the run of play, the disarray from the men in Fiorentina colours continued after the goal as they struggled to regain their early grip on the game. As has been the case so many times already this season, a disruption in the Viola's possession based style has been hard to recover from and the team went in at half time looking unlikely to turn things around.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><b><i>"Tonight we rediscovered some of that style we'd had earlier in the season." - Borja Valero</i></b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Slowly the home side rediscovered their confidence, and after an hour their patience paid off. An Ilicic cross - helped on by <span>Jeison Murillo</span> - was headed in by Borja Valero for his fourth of the league campaign.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Even as time pressed on, Sousa did not panic and instead turned to his bench for answers, with the long-overdue transfer activity during last month's window meaning the Coach now has the option to make changes when things are not going <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.violanation.com/">Fiorentina's</a> way. Telles was given a red card for what the referee deemed to be a second yellow card, and the Viola boss reacted quickly to take full advantage.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A double substitution in the 86th minute saw Vecino replaced by Tino Costa, while <span>Khouma Babacar</span> came on for Ilicic. Fans in the Curva Fiesole would be rewarded for their unwavering support, and it would be Mauro Zarate who once again made the difference, with his match-winning contribution against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/carpi-fc-1909-italy">Carpi</a> discussed at length in <a href="http://www.violanation.com/special-features/2016/2/6/10926472/mauro-zarate-fiorentina-west-ham-lazio-analysis">this previous post</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Less five minutes after those changes from Sousa, the former Inter and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/lazio">Lazio</a> forward saw his shot saved by Handanovic who then parried Babacar's rebound right back at the Senegalese striker. He would make no mistake with a follow up effort, incredibly handing the Viola the lead injury time and the emotional impact of it would quickly boil over.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">1 - Fiorentina have won tonight their first Serie A game this season coming back from behind. Heart. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FiorentinaInter?src=hash">#FiorentinaInter</a></p>
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/OptaPaolo/status/698997273125089280">February 14, 2016</a>
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<p dir="ltr">In a frenetic end to the game, Zarate was sent off for an off the ball incident with Murillo, when he appeared to grab him by the back of the neck and subsequently said something deemed inappropriate by the referee. Murillo himself was then red carded for sarcastically applauding as the teams walked off the field.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><b><i>"This victory against a side like Inter really fires us up, but there's a long way to go yet and we have to carry on doing what we're doing." - Borja Valero</i></b></p>
<p dir="ltr">The result means Fiorentina now hold a four-point lead over Inter, with their opponents refusing to speak to the media as they left the field and announcing a media blackout as they headed straight back to Milan. There was of course no such reaction from the Viola however, with a visibly proud Paulo Sousa giving his thoughts on the result to reporters at his traditional post-match press conference.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I saw a lot of character and my team is becoming more mature in certain situations," the Coach said. "I am happy, as to win a game like this when fighting back gives confidence." Indeed this tenacity will prove to be a useful asset to Fiorentina as they head into a busy schedule of games, starting with the first leg of their Europa League tie with Tottenham on Thursday. Heading into this fixture with a tough win against Inter under their belts will no doubt stand them in good stead.</p>
https://www.violanation.com/2016/2/15/10990194/fiorentina-inter-match-recap-report-2-1-babacar-valero-brozovicChloe_Beresford2016-02-14T20:05:48+01:002016-02-14T20:05:48+01:00Fiorentina Vs. Inter: Lineups and Match Thread
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<figcaption>Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Four at the back for the Viola in this crucial clash with Inter at the Stadio Artemio Franchi</p> <p><span>Paulo Sousa</span> has switched to four at the back for this crucial match with Inter this evening, with <span>Federico Bernardeschi</span> continuing in his more advanced role. The Coach will be hoping to negate the Nerazzuri front three of Eder, <span>Mauro Icardi</span> and Rodrigo Palacio. Fit again <span>Marcos Alonso</span> replaces <span>Manuel Pasqual</span> and January signing Cristian Tello retains his place in the starting lineup.</p>
<p>A win for a resurgent <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com/">AS Roma</a> earlier this weekend saw them rise to third in the table, and so a draw this evening will help neither of tonight's teams in the race for a Champions League spot. After a last gasp victory for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/">Juventus</a> yesterday evening, all eyes are now on Florence as they look to repeat their comprehensive victory over Mancini's side in September.</p>
<h4><b>Lineups</b></h4>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.violanation.com/">Fiorentina</a></b>: (4-2-3-1) Tatarusanu; Roncaglia, Gonzalo, Astori, Alonso; Vecino, Valero; Bernardeschi, Ilicic, Tello; Kalinic</p>
<p><b>Inter</b>: (4-3-3) Handanovic; Nagatomo, Miranda, Murillio, Telles; Brozovic, Medel, Kondogboia, Eder, Icardi, Palacio</p>
<h5>How to watch</h5>
<p>TV: BT Sport Europe and RAI international will be showing the game at 20:45 CET</p>
<p>Online: All other viewing options can be found <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1665549/fiorentina-vs-internazionale/">here</a></p>
<p>Other live viewing options can be found <a target="_blank" href="LIVE%20SOCCER%20URL%20FOR%20MATCH">here</a> (links to illegal streams in the comments will be removed and repeat offenders banned)</p>
https://www.violanation.com/2016/2/14/10983968/fiorentina-vs-inter-2015-lineups-how-to-watch-and-match-threadChloe_Beresford2016-02-13T15:45:53+01:002016-02-13T15:45:53+01:00Fiorentina vs Inter Milan: Match Preview
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<img alt="Can Nikola Kalinic get back to scoring ways against the team he single handedly decimated back in September? " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HvUmLQYSz1oxJ6HICQUlTuizVBg=/0x952:1995x2282/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48802023/GettyImages-502060806.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Can Nikola Kalinic get back to scoring ways against the team he single handedly decimated back in September? | Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>With Roma winning away at Carpi on Friday night, what had been billed as third vs fourth, will now kick off as fourth vs fifth. As the race for Champions League qualification steps up a gear. </p> <p>On Friday night Roma eased into third position in the Serie A table with a 3-1 away victory over <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/carpi-fc-1909-italy">Carpi</a>. The team from the capital now sit pretty on 47 points having won their fourth consecutive game in a row. Luciano Spalletti's side join both Fiorentina (46pts) and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.serpentsofmadonnina.com/">Inter Milan</a> (45pts) respectively, as serious contenders for Champions League qualification. As much as Roma's upsurge in fortune has coincided with the return of Tuscan born Spalletti to the <i>Giallorossi</i> dugout, it has also rather fortuitously corresponded with a run of patchy form from both Fiorentina and Inter.</p>
<p>The two teams that share the limelight of Serie A's prestigious Sunday night kick off slot, have both recently suffered a decline that has seen them free fall from the top of the standings. Overtaken and accelerated away from by the winning machines that are <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/">Juventus</a>, the top two's unassailable form brings the race for third spot into sharp focus. A focus that will understandably be brought to bear on Sunday night's fixture. Come the final whistle on Sunday, if there is to be a winner, that club will move back into third position. Ousting Roma, and in the process adding another twist to the tale, in what looks to be shaping up as a potential Serie A merry-go-round for that all important, lucrative bronze medal position.</p>
<p>In recent times Fiorentina have fared reasonably well against the <i>Nerazzurri</i>. The Viola have won their last three matches against Inter with a combined aggregate score of eight goals to one. Looking back to the last six games, there have amazingly been two 4-1 victories for the team from Florence. The first one back in February of 2013 when Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic put on a show at the Franchi, scoring two goals a piece in a humbling scoreline for Inter. Sunday night's match will see the return of these two players to the field, that to date, they arguably played the best football of their careers on. By a quirk of fate both now don the famous colours of Inter. The other 4-1 victory came at the San Siro back in September, a Nikola Kalinic inspired hat trick helped to knock Inter off their pedestal as early pace setters in the race for the <i>Campionato</i>.</p>
<p>Across the course of the season Fiorentina have averaged 1.7 goals a game to Inter's 1.2 a game. That said each team does possess firepower, the Viola's coming in the form of Nikola Kalinic and Josip Ilicic. Both men are in double figures for goals scored this season. Inter can match the calibre of the Viola arsenal having recently acquired the services of Eder from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/sampdoria">Sampdoria</a>. Meaning the Milanese also have the potential to field two players who are on double figures for goals scored this season. The other being another ex Samp man, Mauro Icardi. The Argentine's clinically finished consolation goal in Inter's 1-4 defeat to the Viola in September should be enough of a warning to the Fiorentina defence, that if given the opportunity in front of goal, exactly what this player is capable of. This is a player who does not discriminate, having scored 6 of his 10 goals this season away from the San Siro.</p>
<p>The referee for this fixture will be Paolo Mazzoleni. Mazzoleni has officiated eleven games this season, producing a grand total of 45 yellow cards and 4 reds. The 41-year-old Bergamasco has taken charge of both clubs, albeit only once and on separate occasions. On the 20th December Mazzoleni took charge of Inter's 1-2 home loss to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/lazio">Lazio</a>, the match eliciting 4 yellow cards and 2 reds from the referee's pocket, in what was a dramatic game. More recently for Fiorentina the referee officiated on the 24th of January, overseeing the Viola's 2-0 home victory over <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/torino">Torino</a>. In that game Mazzoleni dished out 5 yellow cards, 4 of which went to Torino players.</p>
<p>In the last 6 fixtures between Fiorentina and Inter there has only been one red card. That card was brandished to Inter Milan centre back Miranda in the game that ended 1-4 in September. At the time Fiorentina were already leading the game 0-3.</p>
<p><b>Fiorentina:</b></p>
<p>Fiorentina have witnessed over 2.5 goals scored in 6 of their last seven matches. Maybe more pertinent to this fixture is the fact that the Viola have scored a minimum of 2 goals in 6 of their last 7 home fixtures in Serie A.</p>
<p>Players sitting this one out on the sidelines for the Viola include, <span>Milan Badelj</span> who is still ruled out with a muscle strain. New signing <span>Yohan Benalouane</span> is also ruled out due to concerns over his fitness, as is Tino Costa. Mati Fernandez is the only other Fiorentina player not available. The Chilean is suspended due to the red card he received in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/bologna">Bologna</a> last Saturday.</p>
<p>Paolo Sousa will be looking to stem the erratic form of his side who have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their last six league matches. A sequence that has seen the last four games develop a pattern that for this game alone would be good to continue. Fiorentina having won, then drawn, then won, then drawn again. A win on Sunday would silence the many vocal critics of the Viola's post Winter Break performances.</p>
<p>Fiorentina will probably employ a 4-2-3-1 that could also be construed and adapted to a 3-4-2-1, with a familiar cast at the back, as well as in midfield. Cristian Tello and Josip Ilicic will be tasked with assisting Nikola Kalinic, who will most likely start up top for the Viola. Whether <span>Marcos Alonso</span> gets the nod over <span>Manuel Pasqual</span> on the left side of the formation is a toss up, with Alonso rumoured to be an injury doubt. Both <span>Borja Valero</span> and Marcos Alonso will go into this game on 4 yellow cards, knowing one more will mean an automatic suspension. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.violanation.com/">Fiorentina's</a> next league fixture after this game against Inter, will be away to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/atalanta">Atalanta</a> on the 21st February.</p>
<p><b>Inter Milan:</b></p>
<p>Inter share the same fitful form as the Viola having won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their last six games. The last of which was a disappointing 3-3 draw with bottom of the table Verona. After having seemingly mastered the art of the one nil victory earlier in the season, in recent times Inter's fortified back line has gone AWOL. The Milanese club have conceded 6 goals in their last 3 matches, considering they had conceded only 7 in their previous 12 league outings, there does appear to be something rotten in the state of the Lombardy team's defence. In light of the fact that 9 of the 20 goals Inter have let in this season have come from set pieces (only <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://acmilan.theoffside.com/">AC Milan</a> have a worse record), a defence that purports on paper to be the third best in the league, is perhaps on closer reflection, not as organised as one might expect. With Gary Medel, <span>Geoffrey Kondogbia</span>, <span>Alex Telles</span> and another ex Viola player in the shape of <span>Felipe Melo</span> all on four yellow cards. One more misstep will result in a one game ban for any of these individuals. Apart from that, Inter look to be in healthy shape, with just a slight doubt surrounding the fitness of Stevan Jovetic. Roberto Mancini will probably opt for a 4-4-2 with Icardi and Eder leading the attack. If we can look to the past to enlighten the future, then this game should be full of goals, but as you are probably already aware, that usually just means it will end 0-0.</p>
<p><b>Projected Line Ups:</b></p>
<p><b>Fiorentina: </b>(4-2-3-1) Tatarusanu, Roncaglia; Astori, Rodriguez; Alonso, Vecino; Borja Valero, Bernardeschi; Ilicic, Tello; Kalinic</p>
<p><b>Inter Milan: </b>(4-4-2) Handanovic, Nagatomo; Murillo, Miranda; D'Ambrosio, Biabiany; Medel, Kondogbia; Perisic, Eder; Icardi</p>
<p><b>How To Watch:</b></p>
<p>Bein Sports, RAI International, & BT Sports have this one covered, for full options you can check listings <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1665549/fiorentina-vs-internazionale/" target="_blank">here.</a></p>
<p>As always there will be a live match thread for discussion of the game, or if Twitter is your thing you can follow coverage <a href="https://twitter.com/Viola_Nation" target="_blank">@Viola_Nation</a>, and true to form we will have updates of the most important events on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ViolaNationSBN" target="_blank">Facebook page.</a></p>
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