Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella admitted his team are ruing their luck after being eliminated from the Coppa Italia at the Semi-Final stage with a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Atalanta.
After securing a 3-3 draw in the first leg, La Viola fell to a 2-1 away loss on Thursday evening despite Luis Muriel’s early goal, with a Josip Ilicic penalty and Papu Gomez strike turning the match in Atalanta’s favour.
Montella, who was only appointed as Fiorentina’s coach earlier this month, insisted that the penalty decision altered the course of the game and that his team were unfortunate to lose.
“There is so much regret as we created so many opportunities,” the former AC Milan tactician declared in his post-match press conference at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
“With a little more guile we could have taken something here, especially as [Marco] Benassi came so close just after half-time.
“The penalty made us doubtful in defence and we lost a sense of security and certainty. However, after that I only remember Atalanta having one clear-cut chance, when [Robin] Gosens headed wide.”
Defeat means Fiorentina have only appeared in one Coppa Italia Final since lifting the trophy in 2001, falling to a 3-1 loss to Napoli in 2014.
