Vincenzo Italiano sees the glass ‘three quarters full’ after Fiorentina’s 1-1 draw with nine-man Roma and explains his post-match discussion. ‘Romelu Lukaku’s tackle was really horrible.’
The Viola had a nightmare start to the match at the Stadio Olimpico when Paulo Dybala’s cross found Romelu Lukaku for a crouching header from six yards in the opening five minutes.
However, moments after Nicola Zalewski saw red for a second bookable offence, Lucas Martinez-Quarta nodded in the equaliser.
Lukaku was shown a straight red card late on for his reckless lunge on Christian Kouame, but even down to nine men, Roma still resisted the Fiorentina siege with some Rui Patricio saves and the crossbar keeping out Jack Bonaventura.
“They were only down to nine for a few minutes. Our whole second half was extraordinary, we tried in every way to get it back on track after taking the wrong initial approach, which Roma made the most of,” Italiano told DAZN.
“Roma focused throughout exclusively on defending, we were not sharp enough in front of goal, but I congratulated my lads for their reaction in this atmosphere and the determination to get points.
“They were not even pressing us. We conceded the opening goal in naïve fashion losing the ball cheaply, we know they are strong on the transitions like that.
“Fiorentina were up against a strong opponent, in a fiery atmosphere, and I see the glass three-quarters full today.”
Italiano admits he should’ve seen the problems coming, as this is a regular occurrence for the Viola who don’t always have the right initial approach.
“I expected Roma to have that strong start, unfortunately we did not hold out under that 15-minute spell where they always come out fighting. It was a world class goal.
“We did well in the preventative marking after that, allowed them very few chances and took the game in hand.”
Nico Gonzalez was not fit enough to start after also missing the midweek Coppa Italia tie with Parma, but came off the bench.
“Nico was training separately from the squad for eight days. You know how important he is for us, today he was centimetres away from getting the goal with his header. It’s a pity, but he can hopefully be back to full fitness from the next match.”
The biggest problem for Italiano’s team has always been their failure to turn possession and chances into actual goals, especially with their strikers, as again today defender Martinez-Quarta was on target.
“I see a Fiorentina side that is improving, even if at times our starts are not always the best. We continue to put in good performances, especially against the big clubs. The problem is that we have a lot of possession and opportunities, but are not clinical enough in the final third.
“I am convinced the growth process will continue, as this is a young team, for instance Michael Kayode who is technically a Primavera player.”
This was a head-to-head with Roma for fourth place, but the stalemate leaves them in joint sixth with Napoli.
“Our objective in the league is to improve on the seventh and eighth place that we had in my first two seasons. We can do that with these performances, this character and this determination. We want to remain in all the competitions and those are our objectives.”
After the final whistle, Italiano immediately went to talk with Leandro Paredes, so what did they say?
“Lukaku’s tackle was really horrible. We didn’t understand each other when it happened, so we clarified, shook hands and it was all resolved.”