Fiorentina were held 0-0 by Genoa at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
Despite being in total control of the game Fiorentina struggled to convert the wealth of chances they created as Mattia Perin had a man of the match performance and was a major reason the game ended scoreless.
The first and best chance of the game came on 15 minutes when Mario Gomez had a glorious chance to give his side the lead but he misjudged Juan Cuadrado’s cross sending the ball wide.
The Viola’s next chance came as a result of Borja Valero playing a through ball into the box for Cuadrado. The Colombian cut inside to his left but his mishit shot went across the goal and out for a Genoa throw in.
Genoa played a tough tackling game in the first half in order to stifle the Viola’s attacking rhythm as the Rossoblu conceded 10 fouls in the first half with both Andrea Bertolacci and Facundo Roncaglia being cautioned.
However Fiorentina were not deterred as Aquilani almost gave the home side the lead on 39 minutes after Cuadrado saw his run through the middle and played a weighted pass into him, though the former Liverpool man was stopped by Perin who rushed off his line.
Genoa defended deep in the first half nullifying the space behind which Fiorentina were constantly looking to exploit and this was a cause of frustration for Fiorentina as it meant that all their possession was often for nought.
Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini must have been worried by the evident aggression of Bertolacci so he was replaced with Tomas Rincon at half time.
Fiorentina found much space out the right flank in the early stages of the second half which Cuadrado happily exploited but he was stopped in his run by Burdisso. However he did find enough space to lay it off for Aquilani to strike but it was parried by Perin.
It wasn’t a happy day for Mario Gomez as the German looked sluggish in the first half so Viola coach Vincenzo Montella replaced him with Federico Bernardeschi on 59 minutes.
Maurico Pinilla attempted an outrageous volley from a cross from Edenilson on 64 minutes but the Chilean’s effort flew high over the bar. He was then replaced by on loan AC Milan forward Alessandro Matri.
It was a nightmare debut for Roncaglia as he was sent off for a second bookable offence on 72 minute as the Argentine blatantly manhandled Cuadrado leaving referee Daniele Orsato no other option.
Fiorentina kept getting closer and closer to scoring but still struggled to find the back of the net. Manuel Pasqual, who replaced Stefan Savic, put a cross into the box from the left flank but Bernardeschi’s header was saved.
The ball was cleared but only as far as Aquilani who spotted Marcos Alonso’s run into box and played a ball over the top but the Spaniard’s volley went wide.
Superb goalkeeping from Perin kept the game scoreless in the stoppage time as first the Italian U21 international tipped over Gonzalo Rodriguez’s shot following a corner. Then he somehow managed to get a touch onto Bernardeschi’s header to give Genoa a point from their travels.
