Fiorentina continued their fine European run on Thursday by running out as deserved 3-1 winners over Danish club Esbjerg.
Goals from Alessandro Matri, the recently sprite Josip Ilicic and Alberto Aquilani were enough for the Viola on the night in what was a match that the side clearly did not underestimate.
While you would be hard pressed to find a player that failed to impress on the night there is one that stood out and has done so for several weeks.
Mati Fernandez put in a performance that showed why Vincenzo Montella has put so much faith in the enigmatic Chilean in recent matches, and the 27-year-old has repaid him with some stellar displays.
Since joining from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2012 Fernandez had, until recently, been in and out of the Viola lineup while failing to show on a consistent basis that he deserved an extended run in the club’s starting lineup.
With his latest performances Mati Fernandez is becoming less of an enigma and more of a sure thing for Vincenzo Montella.
However that has changed and Thursday nights performance was indicative of that. The Chilean was all over the field for the 65 minutes he was on the pitch, notably providing Matri with an assist for what was the opening goal of the match after only eight minutes.
While injuries have slowed him down at times since moving to Florence it’s been injury woes to fellow midfielders like Massimo Ambrosini, David Pizarro and Alberto Aquilani that has opened the door for Fernandez this season.
As a result he has asserted himself as one of Montella’s top midfield options moving forward, a welcome addition to the tactician given the Viola are still competing on three fronts.
It will be a testament to Montella’s talents if he is able to get the best out of the Chilean for the remainder of the season, something few have been able to do since the talented midfielder moved to Europe and Villarreal in 2006.
Like so many gambles (Aquilani, Neto, Pizarro, and most recently Matri) that have worked out for the Viola, it’s safe to say Fernandez is showing he is the latest Gigliatoo flower to finally bloom in Florence.
With the Europa League out of the way the Viola will now be able to turn the attention to the Serie A where a tricky travel to the Stadio Ennio Tardini and Parma awaits them.
With last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Inter still fresh on the team’s mind things won’t get any easier against a Ducali side who are coming off a dominant 4-0 away victory over Parma.
With the match set to take place on Monday it should provide the club with more time to recharge their batteries after a Thursday trip to Denmark.
However the match won’t simply come down to a question of energy levels as Roberto Donadoni and his boys have shown that they can battle with the best that the Serie A has to battle on a regular basis.
It’s not a mirage: after months and months on the sideline Mario Gomez is finally back for Fiorentina.
As such Montella will have to do his best to prepare his Viola side tactically for the cruising Cruciati.
It is expected that Matri will once again get the start for the match but one has to assume that it won’t be long before we see Mario Gomez finally return to the starting lineup.
The German made his long awaited return as a substitute against Inter before playing close to 40 minutes against Esbjerg.
While it would be safe to assume that it is still to early to give him a starting spot, it won’t be long before Viola fans can finally count on the towering German to give the team a late season push in what has been a fantastic campaign for the club to date.
Follow Adriano Boin on Twitter: @Boin44
