Fiorentina slips up yet again in Serie A
Fiorentina was in contention for a top-four entry in Serie A a fortnight ago. However, back-to-back draws against Sassuolo and Verona have hampered their march.
Vicenzo Italiano's men got off to a near-perfect start to the season and were dreaming of qualifying for the Champions League next term. However, some shocking results against lower-ranked opponents in the last few weeks have diluted such ambitions.
Lost opportunity against Verona
While Verona were compact in their shape, the visitors looked restless to earn three points. As a result, Verona counter-attacked Fiorentina with great precision, which ultimately proved decisive. Kevin Lasagna got hold of a loose ball to slam it past Fiorentina's goalkeeper, giving Verona the lead.
#SerieATIM | #VeronaFiorentina finisce 1-1, i gialloblù chiudono il 2021 a quota 24
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Despite creating more opportunities after that, Fiorentina looked in a rush and missed simple chances. Despite dominating possession, it was Verona who looked in control. It took the visitors' as late as the 80th minute to breach Verona's defense and restore parity.
However, to their frustration, they could only collect a solitary point.
Inconsistencies for Fiorentina against lower-ranked opponents
This has been a trend for Italiano's men this season. Despite producing fighting performances against Juventus and Atalanta, Fiorentina has dropped as many as 10 points against the bottom-five teams. This included two draws against Sassuolo and Verona and defeats to Empoli and Venzia. Subsequently, the club finds itself six points adrift off a Champions League place.
A leaky defence
Fiorentina has the leakiest defense amongst the top-seven clubs. They have conceded well over one goal per game.
The young centre-back duo of Igor Julio and Nikola Milenkovic have failed to show composure in crunch moments. This became very evident in the game against Empoli earlier this campaign. Empoli scored two 90th minute goals to stun Fiorentina. Even in their most recent outing against Verona, it was Julio who lost track of Lasagna, who eventually scored the opener.
Fiorentina needs to address their backline inexperience in the upcoming transfer window.
What lies ahead for Fiorentina?
Fiorentina has an interesting run of fixtures in January which sees them play against four opponents who rank below them in the table. This includes fixtures against struggling Udinese and Genoa. Their only significant fixture of the month is the Coppa Italia outing against Napoli.
Fiorentina, nonetheless, have to improve on their defensive frailties and mental block, to overcome these opponents and move up the table.