Fiorentina 0-0 Genoa: Match report

Second half

Nothing much changed, really. Fiorentina kept huffing and puffing, Genoa kept playing on the counter. The lack of imagination in the final third was remarkable. Vanoli hooked the ineffective Braschi in favor of Roberto Piccoli at the hour mark but unsurprisingly, the veteran didn’t add anything. Both teams created a goalmouth scramble off a set piece that ended with Robin Gosens blocking it on the line. Dodô had a late chance to set up the winner but whiffed his cross. And that was that. Security achieved.

Full time

Goals: lol

Cards: oddly enough, no

What we learned

-Braschi’s got potential but he’s not ready physically, technically, or tactically. The enthusiasm is great but he’s clearly not on the same page as his teammates and isn’t ready for the pace of the top tier. Still like him as a prospect he’s not the answer up front.

-These guys are already on the beach. Fagioli was very loose with the ball. Solomon vanished in the second half. Piccoli and Guðmundsson managed to be themselves despite limited minutes. It was very gross.

-Dodô was bad in the final third (maybe because he didn’t have any real box presence to aim crosses at) but he was superb otherwise. It’s between him and de Gea for man of the match and I lean towards our flightless bird.

-It’s official.

-Østigård created both goals for Genoa in the reverse fixture and remained an enormous set piece threat simply because Fiorentina lacks anyone with the physical ability to stick with him on dead balls.

-Funniest moment of the game came in the 33rd minute. Fagioli had the ball deep and was waiting for someone to check to him. Nobody approached him and Beans got so hopping mad that, well, he literally hopped up and down in fury. Take it easy, Yosemite Sam.

What’s next

The hunt is over. The quarry has been run to ground and taken. Fiorentina is mathematically guaranteed to avoid relegation. It hasn’t been fun or pretty or anything but give Vanoli credit for getting this over the line, albeit just barely. The players deserve less credit, I think, especially in light of their quiet-quitting over the final month, but I suppose they deserve a little credit too for changing the sheets after they shat the bed. The fans, at least, weren’t delighted.

We’ll see if they can get up for Juventus next week. It could be a bloodbath: despite criticism, Spalletone’s got the Bianconeri playing better of late, and they need to win to stave off Milan, Como, and Roma in order to make the Champions League. The Viola usually get up for the Juvenuts but the final away match of this accursed season could bring its largest margin of defeat. After that, it’s game 38 against Atalanta and then the blessed oblivion of summer. But hey, at least we know that it’ll be a safe oblivion rather than a dangerous one.