Vincenzo Italiano insists Fiorentina will not take Lech Poznan for granted in the Conference League quarter-final, want to go all the way in every competition and explains why Luka Jovic has fallen off the radar.
The Viola dominated the first leg 4-1 in Poland and would have to lose by three clear goals at home just to force extra time when they meet at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT).
It was their ninth consecutive victory in the Conference League and put them on track towards the semi-final against either OGC Nice or FC Basel.
“It is the exact identical situation as against Braga,” said Italiano in his press conference, referring to the Round of 16 tie.
“We have a good advantage, but still need to start on the right foot with the utmost focus. We had not done that with Sporting Braga, so we had to get the game back on track when it had seemed like a formality and it was not.”
Although they are flying in the Conference League and Coppa Italia, winning the first leg of the semi-final 2-0 away to Cremonese, they have stuttered in Serie A with two back-to-back draws.
Sofyan Amrabat, Jonathan Ikone and Josip Brekalo are all out of action, so the midfield and attack must be reshuffled.
“The important thing is that we know what to do no matter who plays, as the team as a whole has improved in terms of mentality. We have great respect for Lech Poznan and nothing is to be taken for granted.
“The key is to never stop being hungry for results, chasing down those victories in all three competitions. I am pleased to see the players realise there are traps all around and we cannot take our foot off the gas for a single moment.”
Italiano and Fiorentina have managed to keep their options open in every tournament moving towards the end of April, something achieved only by Inter and Juventus.
“The truth is that we don’t want to concentrate on only one objective. We are in all the competitions and want to give our all in every game. Once we started gaining confidence and the strikers began to score regularly, we started to take flight.”
Despite the rotation of many players, Arthur Cabral is a permanent fixture, so why has Luka Jovic seemingly disappeared off the Viola radar?
“Jovic has not been in good shape lately. We know what he can give, I told the team that there are moments some are on form and some aren’t, everyone needs to wait for their moment.”