Fiorentina collapsed at the penultimate stage and missed the chance to confirm themselves as finalists in the Italian Cup and to compete against Juventus after losing last year’s match against Inter. We needed a match with maximum attention on the pitch from an Atalanta team determined to overturn the minimal deficit achieved in the first leg and managed to do so also thanks to some errors by some of the Viola’s individuals. With the certainty that the final 4-1 at the Gewiss Stadium represents an excessively harsh punishment for Italiano and his boys.
The match got uphill right from the start, with the Dea quickly breaking the deadlock thanks to Koopmeiners and then finding themselves in numerical superiority at the start of the second half, when Milenkovic got himself sent off. Nonetheless, Viola had also managed to put things right, reaching a draw with Martinez Quarta. But then the great goal to make it 2-1 by Scamacca and the feeling that perhaps a more careful attitude in the final minutes could have also avoided the last two Atalanta goals and led to extra time.
Mister Italiano thus analyzed the match in the press conference: “The episodes? I mean the great saves by Carnesecchi and the expulsion of Milenkovic. From the moment you are down to ten men all you have to do is defend yourself. It’s clear that it’s difficult in the trenches, we defended in a compact manner. But the key episodes they are these. We liked the atmosphere in Rome, but we found an Atalanta that exploited their superiority.”
