Vincenzo Italiano is not entirely happy with Fiorentina‘s 3-2 win over Club Brugge in the Conference League semis and warns his players that it ‘will not end well’ if they don’t remain fully focused in the second leg next week.
The Tuscans secured a 3-2 win over Club Brugge in the first leg of the Conference League semis on Thursday. Fiorentina’s opponents were reduced to ten men in the second half, but scored the equaliser a few minutes later, while a late M’Bala Nzola goal helped La Viola emerge victorious.
“We regret conceding twice,” Italiano told Sky Sport.
“We didn’t allow ourselves to win with a wider margin. I am happy with Nzola’s goal. It was clear from the start that he had a good attitude, but we must do more in the next match.
“In the end, we tried to put all our attacking players on the pitch and we reaped the rewards. When you have this quality and physicality up front, every opponent struggles. However, I repeat that we should have scored more goals. We had many chances, and we could have scored more goals, but the lads’ attitude in the last period has been impressive.”
Italiano warns that it may ‘not end well’ for Fiorentina despite win over Brugge
Italiano was particularly frustrated by Brugge’s second goal, which came from a “random” long ball that surprised centre-backs Lucas Martinez Quarta and Luca Ranieri.
“Quarta and Ranieri didn’t feel the danger. They know they must work well on preventive marking in these situations. Considering the match’s trend, I think they lowered the guard, but it’s impossible not to believe that this ball would not cause trouble for us. If we had scored the third goal, the game would have finished differently.
“I imagine that, if we have the same attitude of those 10 seconds in the second leg, it won’t end well. We must be focused until the end because anything can happen in these matches,” continued the coach.
“We could have scored more goals tonight and I am convinced we’ll have chances in the next match. As I said before the game, maximum commitment and discipline are needed.”