- Fiorentina buoyed by Serie A win
- Manager wills players to ‘dream big’
- Crystal Palace well placed to qualify
Crystal Palace travel to Florence to play the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, taking a 3-0 aggregate lead to Stadio Artemio Franchi. They collide with the Italian outfit on Thursday night (April 16th).
Jean-Philippe Mateta (P), Tyrick Mitchell and Ismaila Sarr were on the scoresheet at Selhurst Park last Thursday. It put Oliver Glasner’s men in a promising position to reach the semi-finals.
La Viola bounced back from the disappointment of the first leg with a 1-0 win against Lazio on Monday night, courtesy of a Robin Gosens header. The win puts eight points between Fiorentina and Lecce and dampens their relegation worries.
Fiorentina Still Dreaming Big
Fiorentina boss Paolo Vanoli has expressed his desire for his side to look towards Thursday with positivity. He said ahead of the game (via Football Italia):
“Now we must recharge the batteries”, he said following his side’s win.
“Try to dream all over again in the Conference League. We are in front of our fans, so we have to believe”, Vanoli added.
“We owe it to ourselves and our fans to give it our all in the Conference League too.”
Fiorentina’s upturn in form has been noticeable, picking up 18 points in their last nine Serie A games, bettered only by Inter Milan and Napoli.
Whilst a 3-0 deficit is not the largest to be overturned, the chances of Palace faltering quite enough to the point of what would be a complete capitulation feel unlikely.
The Italians almost threw away the same advantage in their play-off round against Jagiellonia Białystok. A 3-0 win in the first leg was followed by a second-leg home game, which they lost 4-2 after conceding three goals in ninety minutes, sending the tie to extra time.
Palace must not be Complacent
Last Thursday, Oliver Glasner’s side limited their Italian counterparts to just one big chance, Dean Henderson making two saves and Fiorentina striking the crossbar once.
Palace dominated the first leg, seemingly fighting harder for the win at home, as they almost doubled the tackles completed by La Viola.
Another successful outing against Newcastle United should maintain confidence in the side, and Palace’s experience in quarter-finals should see them through. In the FA Cup last season, the 3-0 win at Craven Cottage felt like the easiest result of that cup-winning run.
There was a similar feeling in the air last Thursday, with a sense of inevitability surrounding Palace’s performance, and the goals came with that.
The mission in Florence is a simple one. Remain composed, focus on winning personal duels and limit their opportunities. Palace executed that exact plan to perfection last Thursday, and facing the same opponents, weakened by the suspension of right-back Dodo, should be able to replicate that performance this week.
Unless there are further upsets across the competition, the semi-finalists seem to be lined up, with Shakhtar Donetsk and Rayo Vellacano both holding 3-0 leads, as Mainz travel to Strasbourg with a 2-0 cushion.
