Pre-match
With Rolando Mandragora suspended and Albert Guðmundsson only fit for the bench, Daniele Cavalletto didn’t have many choices to make for his XI. On the other side of the aisle, Oscar Hiljemark shuffled things a bit without really shaking them up. Viola boss Paolo Vanoli was forced to watch from the stands after his pretty weak red card against Como. At least the other folks in there provided him, and us, with a blistering atmosphere for a Monday night, complete with an impressive tifo in the Curva Ferrovia.
First half
Both sides quickly showed their hands: Pisa committed 2 fouls in the first 90 seconds and Fiorentina kept the ball patiently, moving it around quite well without generating many chances; the combinations between fullback, winger, and mezzala were particularly encouraging. Ndour cracked a decent effort on goal and Antonio Caracciolo got a desperate block on Marco Brescianini’s dangerous shot. The breakthrough came from Ndour’s skewed effort, which bounced off Simone Canestrelli and dropped right to Moise Kean’s feet. The Moose duly swept home to make it 3 straight games with a goal.
If you were expecting a response from Pisa, you were left waiting: the Viola remained patient on the ball and showed a good ability to change gears and get into the final third, although the connections there were too loose to generate much threat. The out-of-possession work was also excellent, turning the Nerazzurri over time and again in their own half. The only disappointment was not doubling the lead at some point because it felt like another goal would’ve ended the game, but Fiorentina went into the break with a 1-0 lead, 67% possession, and 9 shots to Pisa’s 1. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Second half
Maurizio Mariani grabbed the spotlight just after the restart after Dodô went down under slight but clear contact from Rosen Bozhinov; instead of just waving play on, the ref decided to make a point and booked the Brazilian, which felt quite harsh. It nearly got worse when Fagioli slipped over in midfield, giving Pisa a 2-v-2 break, but Luca Ranieri put in a fantastic tackle on Henrik Meister in the box to snuff it out. That gave the visitors some confidence and they grew into the game, creating a couple of pretty good chances, including one that Dodô cleared over his own crossbar from about 4 yards out. It was ragged, particularly after Jacopo Fazzini missed the net after rounding Nícolas late on and Canestrelli banged one over the bar right at the death, but it was a win.
Full time
Goals: Kean 13’
Cards: Dodô 47’, Fabbian 90’+1, Fazzini 90’+2; Caracciolo 37’, Marin 62’, Cuadrado 79’
What we learned
-Ndour isn’t a project anymore. He’s the 4th-best midfielder on this team at worst and might be more valuable than Brescianini (who was also good here). Cher’s gone from a gawky heap of potential to a genuine Serie A quality player in just a few months.
-I don’t think Harrison’s all that good a player but he does one thing that nobody else on the team does: spam crosses into the box. That adds balance to the attack and forces the opponent to commit someone out wide rather than collapsing everyone into central positions.
-Fiorentina’s now W3 D1 in the games in which Vanoli’s been sent off or suspended. That’s 42% of its points this season in 15% of the games. Hmm. HHMMMMM. (This is obviously a joke and not a call for Vanoli to be sacked.)
-It felt like half the Viola XI ended up with their shirts ripped up. Dodô, Harrison, and Kean all head tears in them by halftime. Bold choice by Kappa to make the unis out of a delicate cheese.
-For what feels like the first time this season, Fiorentina defended set pieces reasonably well. By my count, Pisa created 2 opportunities from 4 corners and 1 attacking free kick. Is that still too high a percentage? Yes. Is keeping it below half a minor triumph? Also yes.
What’s next
The win pushes Fiorentina’s tally to 24 points, even with Lecce and Cremonese. Lecce’s still got the tiebreaker over the Viola but Cremonese is one of the few teams they’ve beaten. Both those sides are still on the schedule so expect the run-in to remain very tight; beating both would probably do enough to ensure survival. Beating everyone else would also help, of course, and that starts with Udinese in yet another Monday game next week.
Before that, though, we’ll see some heavy squad rotation because Jagiellonia Białystok’s coming to town for the second leg of the Conference League playoff round. Fiorentina, as you probably recall, has a 3-0 win in the tank and thus should be able to get this one over the line with minimal fuss, right? Right? Guys?