Fiorentina flies to Belgium to face Club Brugge in the second leg of the Conference League semi-final, the teams take to the pitch at the Jan Breydel at 6.45pm, the last act before the final, which will decide the team that will challenge one of Aston Villa and Olympiacos. First leg match decided with Nzola’s goal at the end to definitively put the Viola ahead in the first round, match won by the Viola at the last minute, final result 3-2.
Vincenzo Italiano, after the elimination in the semi-final of the Italian Cup, is looking for the second European final in a row after the Conference final last season, lost in Prague against West Ham. Fiorentina beat Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen in the direct elimination phase, before narrowly prevailing in the first leg against the Belgian team. The hosts are one step away from the final by beating Dinamo Zagreb and Paok.
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Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge
Press conference
Italian:
“We are focused on reaching the final. I don’t care about personal goals. Our dream is to bring a trophy to Florence. When I arrived here, the dream was to play cups. Now we are fighting to win one. The Conference League is a competition that puts footballers to the test. There are many matches and many uncomfortable trips. But I’m proud and proud of my boys. I have always given my all in all our challenges, it would be nice to crown the journey with a trophy.”
“We don’t know what kind of match Brugge will have, but they are at a disadvantage and playing in front of their fans. I imagine they will try to make the game their own. We have the ability to put them in difficulty and to raise the pace when needed. We have already studied them for the first leg. I can imagine what kind of race conduct they will adopt. They will certainly be much more aggressive and we will have to be careful when coming out with the ball.”
Deila:
“What we have seen from Fiorentina is that they don’t play the typical Italian football of catenaccio, they recover the ball very high, but they can be very flexible. Kouamè has a lot of quality, he knows how to score goals, but let’s not forget all the others, they have a lot experience, quality up front and we have to be prepared. We look too far ahead, whoever reached the semi-final deserved it, we prepare as best we can for this match and see how it will end.”
Probable lineups
Club Brugge: Jackers; Sabbe, Spileers, Mechele, De Cuyper; Skoras, Odoi, Vetlesen; Vanaken, Thiago, Jutglà
Florentine: Terracciano; Dodô, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Biraghi; Arthur, Mandragora; Nico Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Beltran; Belotti
The refereeing team will be almost entirely Turkish for the occasion: the match will be directed by Halil Umut Meler, assisted by assistant referees Mustafa Eyisoy and Kerem Ersoy. Fourth official is the Bosnian Irfan Peljto, at VAR the German Marco Fritz and Alper Ulusoy.
