Fiorentina have it all to do in the second leg of their Conference League play-off after a 1-0 defeat away to Rapid Vienna, decided by a penalty for Rolando Mandragora’s shirt-tug.
The Viola missed Jonathan Ikone, Abdelhamid Sabiri and Michael Kayode, while leaving transfer-listed Sofyan Amrabat and Luka Jovic at home, while Rapid’s star signing Nenad Cvetkovic tore his anterior cruciate ligament at the weekend.
Although the Tuscans reached the Conference League Final last season, they only qualified for this play-off because Juventus were excluded by UEFA for financial irregularities. Their fans were also banned from this match due to the incidents that occurred in that Final against West Ham United.
M’Bala Nzola had a shot charged down in the box and Maximilian Hofmann nodded over from a corner kick, but Thorsten Schick got it completely wrong on the counter-attack with neither a cross, nor a shot. Nico Gonzalez tested the goalkeeper with a header from a corner.
Rolando Mandragora was caught pulling Hofmann’s jersey and the penalty was awarded to Rapid Vienna, which was converted with power and precision into the near bottom corner by Marco Grull.
Nzola and Nico Gonzalez both went for the same pull-back and collided just eight yards from goal, while Cristiano Biraghi’s free kick was bravely charged down by Grull’s face in the defensive wall.
Roman Kerschbaum made a decisive block to deny Josip Brekalo in the box and the Riccardo Sottil header back was intercepted by the goalkeeper, as the Viola increased the pressure in the second half.
Mandragora’s effort was deflected onto the side-netting after good work from Biraghi, then the captain blasted straight at the goalkeeper from close range.
Sottil’s first touch let him down on a promising ball over the top and Gino Infantino couldn’t keep the header on target from Dodo’s free kick.
The biggest Fiorentina chance came at the 89th minute, a desperate double save from Niklas Hedl first on Beltran, who had pounced on a loose ball, and then on the Infantino follow-up.
Infantino also glanced a header wide on a cross whipped in from the left and Hedl smothered a Nico Gonzalez strike in stoppages.
The good news for Fiorentina is that the away goals rule no longer applies, so any victory by a one-goal margin at home will force extra time.
Rapid Vienna 1-0 Fiorentina
Grull pen 35 (RV)
Rapid Vienna: Hedl; Schick, M Hofmann, Querfeld, Auer (Moormann 92); Kerschbaum, Sattlberger; Oswald (Kuhn 71), Seidl (Greil 92), Grull (Bajic 81); Burgstaller
Fiorentina: Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri (Martinez Quarta 81), Biraghi; Arthur, Mandragora (Duncan 81); Gonzalez, Bonaventura (Infantino 70), Brekalo (Sottil 57); Nzola (Beltran 81)
Ref: Pajac (CRO)