Viola Nation - Parma vs Fiorentina: Serie A 2018-2019A Fiorentina blog for Viola fanshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50059/viola-fav.png2019-05-20T18:10:11+02:00http://www.violanation.com/rss/stream/183944222019-05-20T18:10:11+02:002019-05-20T18:10:11+02:00Parma 1-0 Fiorentina: Recap and player ratings
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<img alt="Parma Calcio v ACF Fiorentina - Serie A" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YPHpkkbVMoTewOCf1MipzBz6cNY=/0x0:6048x4032/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63866343/1150299054.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mario Carlini / Iguana Press/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Wow, who could’ve thought that Fiorentina wouldn’t win here?</p> <h2 id="XFiPly">Pre-match</h2>
<p id="qmkES2">Both <a href="https://www.violanation.com/">Fiorentina</a> and <a href="https://www.crusaderschorus.com/">Parma</a> came into this one knowing that a win would ensure their survival in Serie A next season, while a draw would improve their chances. They therefore named their “strongest” squads, although <span>Vincenzo Montella</span> opted for Giovanni Simeone over <span>Luis Muriel</span> at striker while Roberto d’Aversa was stuck with Fabio Ceravolo up top due to Roberto Inglese’s ongoing injury issues.</p>
<h2 id="lVB577">First half</h2>
<p id="dVnMte">Fiorentina came out much the stronger side and Federico Chiesa could have opened the scoring at 7’. He powered down the left and shot from a tight angle, swiping the ball just wide of the back post, with Simeone well-positioned to tap it in had he passed. Gervinho responded for Parma 2 minutes later with a drive off the upright after cutting into the box and wriggling himself into a bit of space against Nikola Milenković. Fiorentina came back with a fairly tame shot from distance by Jordan Veretout and a blast way over the bar from <span>Cristiano Biraghi</span> not really troubling <span>Luigi Sepe</span>.</p>
<p id="kc0bCo">Gervinho had another gilt-edged chance at 17’ to score, but completely misjudged a cross and whiffed on a volley inside the area. <span>Kevin Mirallas</span> completely destroyed a nice break the other direction by rolling the ball straight to Sepe along the turf a few minutes later, and pulled a hamstring moments after that to end his night early. Montella opted to bring on Bryan Dabo as a wingback, shifting Fiorentina from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2.</p>
<p id="ZpTi55">At 38’, Chiesa corralled a bomb over the top from <span>Federico Ceccherini</span> and laid it back to Cholito, who swept a first-time volley with his left just wide of the post when he really should have gotten on frame. 2 minutes later, Riccardo Gagliolo beat Ceccherini (for the second time on the night) to a header off a corner but powered it into the bar. But it was the Viola who really borked it at the other end. First Marco Benassi nicked the ball back by the endline and squared for Simeone, who was tightly marked, sure, but still couldn’t convert from literally a foot away. Just before the break, the ball went pinging around the area and finally dropped for him again. Completely alone, 15 yards from goal, and with time to settle himself, he tried to curl a shot into the top corner and ended up missing the goal by a matter of feet. For any other striker on any other team, it would have been a shocking miss; for Fiorentina’s Simeone, it was very much par for this season.</p>
<h2 id="j8ROkt">Second half</h2>
<p id="sNHfIm">3 minutes after the restart, Chiesa came inches away from handing his side the lead with a blast that Sepe pushed onto the crossbar. A minute later, he won the ball back on the Parma endline by willing himself past two defenders and crossed, but Benassi’s glancing header was just over the bar. Fiorentina were settling in nicely, with Biraghi’s crosses causing some trouble, but it was Vitor Hugo who almost opened the scoring just before the hour mark with a diving header off a corner that was somehow blocked off the line. The stadium came alive, though, with news that <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/empoli">Empoli</a> had taken the lead over <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/torino">Torino</a>, which pushed Parma further up the standings.</p>
<p id="QZu9j9"><span>Juraj Kucka</span> (who maybe shouldn’t have been playing after blatantly spiking Gerson earlier) won a towering header at 67’ that beat Alban Lafont but not Benassi, who made an incredibly acrobatic clearance off the line. Parma were starting to dominate, though, as the Viola retreated. Chiesa made a nice move to cut inside and shoot after Dabo found him in the area, but it was right at Sepe.</p>
<p id="GBJKP7">Luis Muriel, brought on in place of Simeone, came close to making an impact at 78’ with a low strike that fizzed just past Sepe’s post, and Milenković—freed up on the back post from a corner after a brilliant set piece routine left him completely alone—slipped his volley against the post from point blank range a minute later. After that, of course, Parma scored: a free kick ricocheted around a crowd before coming off of Gerson’s back and looping into the goal with Lafont helpless. Fiorentina spent the rest of the match lumping crosses into the Parma area but never looked like scoring, and the Crociati fans raucously celebrated their continuance in Serie A as soon as the triple blast sounded.</p>
<h2 id="YoDAK9">Post-match</h2>
<p id="wgZajI">Vincenzo Montella, in a must-win game against a fellow relegation struggler, picked Simeone over Muriel. That’s basically a fireable offense on its own, but coupled with his inability to motivate these players in the slightest, it’s become increasingly clear that he’s simply not able to work at this level right now. If Fiorentina get relegated, he could well find himself sacked despite the 2-year contract he just signed.</p>
<p id="fVFQc5">Speaking of relegation, Fiorentina are still in 15th and still very much in the (paging Dr. Loggins) danger zone. We’ll have a look at the scenarios later in the week that could assure safety, but for now, let’s just remember that this is a team that was tapped for a Europa League spot by pundits and ownership at the start of the year and is now truly at risk of relegation on the final matchday. It’s a sorry state of affairs for one of Italy’s most iconic clubs.</p>
<h2 id="xkBWfF">Player grades</h2>
<p id="wZZJVc"><strong>Lafont</strong>: 6—Not really at fault for the goal, although a quicker reaction would have been sort of nice. Didn’t have too much else to do, honestly, but didn’t make any huge mistakes today. For him, that’s a plus right now.</p>
<p id="IQWhqP"><strong>Milenković</strong>: 6—Wasn’t terrible at all. Mostly kept Gervinho quiet and came up with a few big stops in the area. On the other hand, he really should have scored. Like, he <em>really</em> should have scored. Still, though, he doesn’t look as lost as he did earlier this month, so that’s nice.</p>
<p id="lHOV5t"><strong>Ceccherini</strong>: 4.5—Clearly targeted on set pieces and couldn’t cope with Gagliolo or Ceravolo in the air. That’s, uh, not great.</p>
<p id="TqPjxS"><strong>Vitor Hugo</strong>: 5—He was present, I guess.</p>
<p id="YDCnI0"><strong>Biraghi</strong>: 6—Put in some dangerous crosses and kept his side of the pitch pretty quiet on defense. Not a bad performance.</p>
<p id="CXHOVx"><strong>Benassi</strong>: 5—The goal line clearance was spectacular and he came close to scoring with a header, but was a bit scattered in possession as per usual.</p>
<p id="lBHYdg"><strong>Gerson</strong>: 5—The own goal really wasn’t his fault, and he was the best player of the first half as a regista. Showed some previously unseen fire as a ball-winner, won a bunch of fouls, and kept things ticking along. Faded badly after the break.</p>
<p id="4CPuWl"><strong>Veretout</strong>: 5—Threaded a few nice balls through, but his head really seems to be with <a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a> already.</p>
<p id="wCgnWc"><strong>Mirallas</strong>: 3—The injury may have been the kindest thing, as he was simply awful out there today. Let’s hope he recovers quickly, but let’s also hope that the time off from training gives him a chance to get whatever spirits possessed him a chance to move on.</p>
<p id="7Lxv10"><strong>Simeone</strong>: </p>
<p id="QdMrCY"><strong>Chiesa</strong>: 6—Had some good chances, but towards the end got way too selfish and tried to do too much, which resulted in Parma shutting him down way too easily when his team needed him the most.</p>
<p id="SdXXqo"><strong>Dabo</strong>: 4.5—Didn’t really do much of anything.</p>
<p id="uvK0bt"><strong>Muriel</strong>: 4—Had one nice shot, but that was it.</p>
<p id="r9O6g2"><strong>Vlahović</strong>: n/a—Only came on for a few minutes at the end.</p>
https://www.violanation.com/2019/5/20/18632616/parma-1-0-fiorentina-serie-a-recap-player-ratings-gradesThe Tito2019-05-17T18:32:26+02:002019-05-17T18:32:26+02:00Parma vs Fiorentina: Preview
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<img alt="ACF Fiorentina v AC Milan - Serie A" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wZm5wvRzUOy1WXqrCRws5Xgz8RU=/0x0:2996x1997/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63852896/1143139190.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>May as well enjoy him while he lasts. | Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="SQYyae">Good news, everyone. This is <a href="https://www.violanation.com/">Fiorentina</a>’s penultimate match of this abominable season. Just think: in 8 days, it’ll all be over for Serie A’s most disappointing team one way or another; with relegation still an (unlikely) outcome for both the Viola and Sunday’s foes <a href="https://www.crusaderschorus.com/">Parma</a>, though, it’s a genuine 6-pointer. History favors the Tuscans, who own a record of W23 D21 L18 against the Crociati in their 62 meetings since their first in 1929’s Serie B. Over the last 10 contests, the Viola are a mere W3 D5 L2, including a 0-1 defeat in Florence most recently.</p>
<p id="ZVUN32">The referee for this one is 41-year-old Piero Giacomelli of Trieste. In 17 Serie A matches this year, he’s handed out 62 yellow cards, 2 red cards, and 6 penalties. In the 13 Fiorentina games he’s reffed, the good guys are W5 D5 L3. We saw him most recently back in the heady days of the <a href="https://www.violanation.com/platform/amp/2019/2/28/18243775/fiorentina-3-3-atalanta-coppa-italia-semifinal-first-leg-recap-player-grades-ratings">madcap 3-3 draw in the Coppa Italia</a> against <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/atalanta">Atalanta</a>.</p>
<p id="WRSfeO">The match will be played on <strong>Sunday, 5 May 2019, at 2:00 PM GMT/10:00 AM EST</strong> at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma. The forecast calls for rain, both throughout the match and for several days before, so expect the sort of slick pitch that adds even more tension to a relegation 6-pointer.</p>
<h2 id="PNRMPV">Parma</h2>
<p id="u8s1TY">After a glowing hot start saw them climb as high as 6th in their first year back in the top flight since relegation and bankruptcy pulled them down in 2015, Parma have fallen off rather badly since the new year. They’re now all the way back in 15th, a single point behind Fiorentina. More worrying for the Crociati is that they’re only 3 points ahead of <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/empoli">Empoli</a>, who sit in 18th; a negative result would put them in a very nervous spot on the last day.</p>
<p id="cFvcXs">Manager Roberto d’Aversa is without CB Bruno Alves (suspension), CM <span>Luca Rigoni</span>, CM Abdou Diakhate (knee), and RW <span>Jonathan Biabiany</span> (ankle). He’s moved away from the 4-3-3 that brought his side so much success earlier in the season but seems to have been figured out since; he’s switched between a 3-5-2 and a 3-4-3 of late. The danger men are still pace merchant Gervinho (10 goals, 4 assists) and target man Roberto Inglese (9 goals, 1 assist); the latter is back after missing a month due to a knee injury, so he may still have some rust to work loose.</p>
<p id="hlFW2H">The book is now out on d’Aversa’s side: they defend deep and break forward quickly, particularly through the wide areas. Gervinho is always a danger in behind, and the midfielders do a good job of getting forward into scoring positions. They are prone to over-committing forward and leaving spaces, though, so Federico Chiesa and <span>Luis Muriel</span> should have some space to cook.</p>
<h2 id="37Pi66">Fiorentina</h2>
<p id="WIY3sf">Hey look, it’s Fiorentina:</p>
<div id="05hBgi"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 92.9714%;"><iframe src="https://tenor.com/embed/11484699?playertype=card" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="vDZXjZ"><span>Vincenzo Montella</span> will have to work without CB Germán Pezzella (face). While the mister may try to slide Vitor Hugo into defense and push Nikola Milenković out wide, Vincent Laurini seems more likely to at rightback. <span>Edimilson Fernandes</span> could slide in at the base of midfield, giving himself a final chance to convince his bosses to shell out €7 million to keep him around. Giovanni Simeone is likely to remain stapled to the bench.</p>
<p id="VyB8Gs">If the Viola can stifle Gervinho, Parma is likely cooked going forward. However, they’ve been surprisingly tough at the back despite a mediocre goals against tally; without old man Alves, though, they’ve looked much more vulnerable. The real tactical issue Montella faces in attack is providing Chiesa and Muriel with service, as none of his available midfielders are much good in that department; <span>Cristiano Biraghi</span>’s incision will be crucial to make up for that lack in the middle.</p>
<h2 id="tq05aP">Possible lineups</h2>
<p id="r0HlLg"><strong>Parma</strong> (3-4-3): Sepe; Iacopini, Gagliolo, Bastoni; Gazzola, Grassi, Kucka, Dimarco; Siligardi, Inglese, Gervinho</p>
<p id="Ca41TF"><strong>Fiorentina</strong> (4-3-3): Lafont; Laurini, Milenković, Ceccherini, Biraghi; Benassi, Fernandes, Dabo; Mirallas, Muriel, Chiesa</p>
<h2 id="No7wJO">How to watch</h2>
<p id="mEjauF"><strong>TV</strong>: Despite the generally enjoyable (for the neutral, at least) nature of relegation scraps, doesn’t look likely. Check the full international television listings <a href="https://m.livesoccertv.com/match/3072233/parma-vs-fiorentina/">here</a> if you’re optimistic.</p>
<p id="UfvgO4"><strong>Online</strong>: <a href="https://m.livesoccertv.com/match/3072233/parma-vs-fiorentina/">Here</a> is your list of safe, reliable, and legal streams.</p>
<h2 id="1a2tMr">Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department</h2>
<p id="RiwKeA">Did you know that the horn of the narwhal is actually its upper left canine tooth?</p>
<p id="tSaulB"><strong>Forza Viola!</strong></p>
https://www.violanation.com/2019/5/17/18629071/parma-fiorentina-serie-a-preview-prediction-lineup-formation-h2h-watch-online-streamThe Tito