Fiorentina failed to consolidate their place atop of the Serie A table after a 2-2 draw with Empoli in Sunday’s Tuscan derby, and Connall Shaw is adamant that Paulo Sousa cannot afford to take the same gamble with his midfield twice.
Before the international break, it was clear that Fiorentina would have a lot of work on their hands, with what I described as their most challenging run of games to date, against Empoli, Basel and Sassuolo.
Just one game in and they’ve already stumbled at the first hurdle.
The Derby was by no means expected to be an easy ride, however, it was hoped that the Viola would come out with a result that would leave most fans happy. Instead, what the packed crowds left with was a feeling of regret and questions such as – ‘Should Paulo Sousa have just played Nikola Kalinic from the get-go?’
Well, it goes even deeper than that. If anything, the mistake was Sousa’s decision to shake up the midfield.
Mario Suarez was chosen ahead of several competent (if not better) team-mates to occupy the deep-lying playmaker role for La Viola. On paper it would seem the perfect match, Suarez is big, strong and fairly capable of passing the ball.
Yet on the pitch, it was a completely different matter. Suarez was lazy, weak and couldn’t seem to string a pass together, robbed of the ball when under little to no pressure at all.
Perhaps this could be put down to ‘small game syndrome’ as the Spaniard often went missing in former team Atletico Madrid’s ‘lesser fixtures’, though that should stand as no excuse for a downright poor performance – and if anything, it should warn a coach off fielding such a player in this type of fixture.
The game was crying out for someone like Milan Badelj, who would have been much better suited to that kind of position, with his ability to break up play and control the tempo of the game with ease.
Also, in a bizarre change of tactics, Sousa chose to deploy Matias Fernandez on the left wing.
With all due respect, the Chilean is considered as a fan favourite and is often a machine up front, yet in this position he lacked the danger which he is usually associated with and was cut off from providing service to team-mate Khouma Babacar, who looked all alone up front. Another poor decision on Sousa’s behalf.
Such inability to dominate the ball and create chances as we have seen in previous outings somewhat encouraged Empoli into playing Fiorentina at their own game – pressing high up the pitch – resulting in two freak goals and a stadium full of stunned Florentines.
In essence, Sousa’s plan to rotate the midfield backfired.
This point was further proved upon the introduction of youngster Federico Bernardeschi, who took an immediate grip of the match and created space for his teammates with his mazy runs. Unlike a certain Ante Rebic, who was given the nod ahead of the Italian.
So, yes, maybe Kalinic should have been in the lineup from the very start, as he has already demonstrated his clear threat in front of goal. But so should have, Badelj, Bernardeschi, Giuseppe Rossi and even Josip Ilicic, all viable candidates who could have done a much better job in the middle of the park than say Suarez, Fernandez or Rebic – something Sousa should have perhaps considered, rather than trying to cram players into certain positions just for the sake of rotation.
It is vital that Sousa does not make the same mistake again in his upcoming fixtures, the Portuguese tactician can ill afford another slip up so high in the table; both in Europe and at home.
