Fiorentina director Daniele Pradè said it will be ‘difficult to sleep tonight’ after defeat to Juventus. ‘Dusan Vlahovic was beaten up and I expected a penalty.’
The Viola were beaten by a stoppage-time Juan Cuadrado goal, but the game changed when Nikola Milenkovic received his second yellow card.
Serie A | Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina: Cuadrado rescues Bianconeri
“We were controlling the game, then the red card naturally made it difficult for us and at that point Juventus emerged,” Pradè told reporters.
“Other than Federico Chiesa hitting the crossbar, Juve barely threatened. We put in a great performance, I congratulate the lads and coach, but we return home with zero points and a great deal of regret.”
There was another incident that prompted controversy, as on the stroke of half-time there was a long wait for VAR to check a potential Danilo handball in the box.
“When we saw it again, I was convinced the referee would give a penalty. It was handball, but the referee opted to consider it involuntary.”
As well as being in a natural position, Danilo’s arm did not make his silhouette larger, as if the arm hadn’t been there, the ball would’ve struck his chest.
That wasn’t the end of Pradè’s complaints about the refereeing in Turin, as both Milenkovic and Lucas Martinez-Quarta will be suspended against Milan.
“Vlahovic was beaten up from start to finish, but that’s football. The incredible thing is that we received two yellow cards for fouls in the Juventus half.
“Martinez-Quarta played a top level game, he is becoming even more fundamental for us. We will be forced to play against Milan without the two first-choice centre-backs.
“I am sure Fiorentina will emerge in the end with the fruits of our hard work, because we play good football. It’ll be difficult to sleep tonight, but from Monday we’ll try to do better against Milan.”