Player Ratings: Cesena 1-4 Fiorentina

Date: 14th December 2014 at 8:44pm
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Fiorentina played to a dominant 4-1 victory in their visit to Cesena in Sunday’s Serie A action. Domenico Di Carlo could not generate a positive result on his coaching debut with the struggling Cavallucci Marini, who have not won since the opening game of the season.

The Viola opened the scoring thanks to Borja Valero’s effort from a corner kick just before the break. Stefan Savic would add another from a set-piece just after the restart before the defenders’ lightly headed back pass was bizarrely conceded by Viola keeper Neto.

Fiorentina’s captain Gonzalo Rodriguez provided an insurance goal shortly after before the away side sealed victory when substitute Mounir El Hamdaoui slotted in the fourth goal.

Cesena

Nicola Leali – 5 – Agile 

An early robbery on a header from Mario Gomez proved to be the keepers’ only highlight as he was unable to fend off the set piece goals that would come later in the match. His reflexes served him well, but his rebounds proved to be costly to the result.

Stefano Lucchini – 4.5 – Flat 

The defender was seemingly behind in his attempted defensive manoeuvres and could not fend off the shots or crosses that came his way.

Massimo Volta – 4 – Disastrous 

Able to shoulder off Gomez but proved too aggressive at times and received the first booking of the match. His headed clearance from a Fiorentina corner kick was eventually thumped in by Borja Valero for the opening goal before the break. His aggressive tackle in 77th minute garnered his second yellow card and removal from the match,

Daniele Capelli – 5 -Feisty

Often guilty of just thumping the ball off the field to give away possession but was positive in his efforts to fend off the attacking plays of the visitors.

Constantin Nica – 5.5 – Crafty

The Romanian quickly burst into attack following the opening whistle and did well to win a free kick in a dangerous area after some positive playmaking. His defending was clumsy at times but he made up for it in his movements towards goal, even managing a shot from the top of the 18-yard box.

Antonio Mazzotta – 5.5 – Workhorse 

The defender handled the pressure from Joaquin to great effect in the hefty possession game from the Viola. In attack he showed great pace to win the ball and could whip in dangerous crosses when given the space.

Carlos Carbonero – 6 – Careful

Good composure and accurate crosses into the attacking areas. Defensively he was composed and able to intercept the ball to initiate the play, but failed to close down Borja Valero in time before the Spaniard scored his goal.

Manuel Coppola – 4.5 – Angry

Cesena’s No.10 struggled to make his impact on the game felt on his corner kicks and movements on the ball. Off the ball he committed fouls and spent a great deal of time complaining.

Emmanuel Cascione – 4.5 – Innefective

Normally an effective cog in the midfield, the Italian was shut away from his forward movements and began to make sloppy tackles late in the match.

Hugo Almeida – 5.5 –  Strong  

The Portuguese forward played well to his strengths and held the ball up front to try and create a threat. He nearly hit the target from a header late in the match but was missing the conviction in front of goal for much of the game.

Gregoire Defrel – 6 – Unrefined

The striker showed outstanding pace and confidence on his runs toward goal but struggled to get his final shots or passes to threaten when it mattered most.

Substitutes
Luca Garritano – 5 – Lacking
Provided fresh legs for the later stages of the game and made a good cross to Almeida in the final minutes but could not rescue the result.
Andrea Tabanelli – 4.5 – Missing
The substitute could not find a way to close down Marcos Alonso and improve the match for his side.
Giuseppe De Feudis – N/A

Fiorentina

Neto – 4 – Embarrassed 

The Brazilian was relatively untested in the match but commanded and distributed to the outfield players well. Unfortunately, the net minder chose not pick up a headed back pass from Savic and should have trapped the ball from rolling through his legs and into the goal in the 2nd half.

Gonzalo Rodriguez – 7.5 – Guardian

The Viola captain was reliable on his defensive headers from set pieces and didn’t give an inch of space for the attacking plays made by the home side. He secured the win with a perfectly tipped header in the 2nd half.

Stefan Savic – 6.5 – Involved

A shaky start to the fullbacks match saw him give away possession on a few occasions and fail to keep up to Mazzotta on the flank. Thankfully the Montenegrin found the back of the net to bolster his performance.

Jose Maria Basanta – 6.5 – Effective

The Argentine kept his fellow defenders safe by helping in the tackles throughout the middle of the park and used his left flank to quickly connect with attacking movements.

David Pizarro – 7.5 – Sharp

The experienced midfielder was a great impact to the attack and possession for a majority of the match with his passing and moving. He assisted the headed goal by Rodriguez and was involved in the fourth goal by El Hamdaoui.

Alberto Aquilani – 6 – Adventurous

The creative midfielder was ambitious in his shooting and had multiple efforts fly high and wide in the match. His true strengths proved to be in his passing play towards the attackers, but had struggled at important moments.

Matias Fernandez – 7 – Valuable

Great set pieces were taken by the Chilean and his cross in the opening 10 minutes could have assisted a headed effort by Mario Gomez. After winning more free kicks with his pace into Cesena’s defensive zones, he finally assisted the goal by Savic from his eventual cross on the set-piece.

Joaquin – 5.5 – Dull

The Spaniard could not muster enough creativity on his side of the park and was more likely to lose possession or pass backwards than to create any danger for the home side.

Borja Valero – 7 – Clinical

Fiorentina will be thankful for the performance put in by the Spanish midfielder who opened the scoring with an accurately placed half volley and followed with a consistent game.

Marcos Alonso – 6 – Aggressive 

The towering midfielder showed the most strength in his aerial battles and kept the attacking play moving with his efforts on high balls. On the ground he looked indecisive and lost possession more often than not. His second half improved but he was eventually substituted for his aggressive involvement.

Mario Gomez – 4.5 – Dysfunctional

The target man was off his game despite being given clear opportunities to grab a goal. His dangerous headed effort was saved early on by Leali, but he could not muster a shot on a simple 2nd half breakaway and was repeatedly caught offside before being replaced by Josip Ilicic.

Substitutes
Josip Ilicic – 5.5 – Controlled 
Shortly after his inclusion the home side went down a man, and the Slovenian did well help his team firmly finish the match.
Mounir El Hamdaoui – N/A
Juan Vargas – N/A

 

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