The very best and worst of what Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina side have had to offer this season was on display for all to see during Sunday’s thrilling fight back against AC Milan, with a 2-2 draw giving the Viola the merest glimmer of hope that a place in next season’s Champions League is still within reach.
Individual errors and porous defending has come to typify the Viola’s season since the turn of the year, and Sunday was no exception, with Riccardo Montolivo capitalising on a moment of indecision from the usually reliable David Pizarro to put the Rossoneri ahead, while Mathieu Flamini was allowed to pull away from his marker with ease to steer in his side’s second of the afternoon.
In contrast, Montella’s side have looked a devastating attacking force for large parts of the season, and although both goals on Sunday came from the spot, it was the approach play that demonstrated the fact most effectively, with Adem Ljajic’s majestic run into the box drawing an admittedly debatable foul from Antonio Nocerino, and Juan Cuadrado’s trickery proving to much for Mattia De Sciglio to handle.
Meanwhile, ill-discipline has occasionally blighted the Viola’s cause, with Nenad Tomovic becoming the third player to see red this season having swung an elbow into the face of Stephan El Shaarawy. Montella argued afterwards that the incident “was not even a foul, let alone a red card,” but if a player raises an elbow in the manner that Tomovic did, he can have little complaint.
The result maintained Milan’s six point lead over Fiorentina, and though the Rossoneri will undoubtedly now be favourites to go on and secure a place in next season’s Champions League, the respective run-ins of each side could yet yield a lifeline for the Viola.
Over the next two weeks, Montella’s side will travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta before hosting Torino, and whilst neither game could be described as easy, they are certainly winnable. Milan meanwhile will face the only two sides currently still above them in the Serie A standings, Napoli and Juventus.
While there can be no guarantees, it is a sequence of fixtures that offers the Viola their greatest and perhaps only hope of closing the gap on the top three as the season heads into its decisive phase. However, yet another injury setback for Steven Jovetic will see Montella deprived of his top scorer for the next two weeks, with the Montenegrin ruled out with muscle strain.
When asked during his post-match press conference if he regretted the decision to fast track a partially fit Jovetic back into the starting line-up, Montella said: “I would still make the same decision again because you can get injured even when you’re fully fit.
“[Jovetic] seemed fine in training and was not lacking fitness despite his time on the side-lines. Perhaps the emotion of the game itself took more out of him physically. We make our choices in the full knowledge of the risks involved. You must remember we’re in the latter stages of the season, so the risks of injury are greater.”
Montella appeared rueful during the press conference, as if he had already come to terms with the fact that a top three finish may now be out of reach, saying: “I think sometimes [this season] I have made some errors, and [against Milan] that was obvious.”
There was however an obvious pride in his side’s performance, with the coach suggesting that “the attitude shown by the [players] is worth more than one point.” Who knows, if that attitude can be carried into the final few weeks of the season, the race for the final Champions League berth could yet be far from over.
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevertonFC_84
