Fiorentina hosted Sassuolo for the first match of round 17 in Serie A. The three points stayed in a cloudly Florence after 100 minutes of uninspiring football.
The first half at the Artemio Franchi wasn’t a particulary exciting one. Both teams were very slopply and created very little opportunities. Sassuolo came closest to a goal twice. Fiorentina failed to clear the ball and it fell to Frattesi, who fired towards the low left corner, but Terracciano made an excellent effort to keep it out. Then, around the half hour mark, Frattesi got past a few Sassuolo players with some luck and determination and gave it to Berardi. The Italian winger found Pinamonti in the box, but Terracciano came of his line quickly to save again.
Fiorentina made it 1-0 shortly after the break. Sassuolo couldn’t get the ball away and Ferrari flicked it towards the wrong direction. Substitute Saponara was alert and volleyed it in, celebrating with his coach Italiano afterwards. Another substitute from the Viola coach made a negative impact shortly after. Dodo blocked Pinamonti’s shot with his arm and the referee awarded a penalty after VAR intervention. Berardi made no mistake from the spot.
In the 90th minute, a similar handball occured at the other side of the pitch. The referee was once again called to the screen and as a result Fiorentina were rewarded a penalty. Nico González remained calm and slotted the 2-1 in to give Fiorentina their first win of 2023.
Player Ratings
Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): Terracciano (6.5); Venuti (6), Milenkovic (5.5), Igor (6.5), Biraghi (6); Bianco (5.5), Duncan (6); Ikoné (6.5), Bonaventura (7), Kouamé (6); Cabral (5).
Substitutes: González (6.5), Saponara (7), Castrovilli (5.5), Dodo (5.5), Terzic (6).
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Consigli (6.5); Toljan (6), Ferrari (5.5), Tressoldi (5), Rogério (5.5); Frattesi (7), Obiang (6), Traorè (6); Berardi (6.5), Pinamonti (6.5), Laurienté (5.5).
Substitutes: Alvarez (6), Ceide (6).
Jurre van Wanrooij | GIFN
