Fiorentina-Roma 0-1 at Franchi in Coppa Italia Fixture

The Giallorossi came out on top in extra time thanks to a goal from their forward. Fisticuffs at the end of the game. Taddei, Dodò and Cuadrado all saw red. The Viola did hit the crossbar and the post twice. But its Zeman’s side that go through to face Inter in the semi-final, after surprising everyone and playing with a 3-man defence.

Roma bounce back. Following 2 defeats in a row, 3 in their previous 5 games, they win at the Franchi in the Coppa Italia, beating Fiorentina to claim the place in the semi-final against Inter. The game in Florence ended 0-1 to the Giallorossi, after extra time. And it was Destro who grabbed the winning goal, in the 97 minute. The match had been a very exciting one, packed full of defensive errors and, above all, a lot of goal chances that kept the fans on their feet. The winning goal came in extra time, via the player who had tried the hardest to get on the score sheet all game, Destro. But Fiorentina have plenty to feel aggrieved about: they hit the woodwork on a total of 3 times – the crossbar once and the post twice. But they just weren’t able to get the better of Zeman’s side and their new-look defence: the coach switched to playing 3 men at the back. It was Fiorentina’s 3rd consecutive defeat, following defeats in Serie A against Pescara and Udinese.

Zeman's 'revolution' — Zeman surprised everyone. He played an improvised 3-man defence, in complete contract to his usual tactics of playing a 4-man defence. And Roma didn’t concede any goals, with Marquinhos, Burdisso and Castan lining up at the back. Destro was the lone striker in attack, as both Osvaldo and Lamela were suspended from this game, and Totti was injured. Florenzi and Pjanic started in a 3-4-3. Montella started the match with Toni alongside Jovetic in the Fiorentina attack. Neto started in goal rather than Viviano.

Lots of chances - but no goals — That’s how the 1st half went. Roma actually passed the ball around well. They were very fluid but despite creating a host of goal scoring chances, were unable to get the ball into the net. De Rossi came close to scoring via a header early on and the visitors had another fantastic chance to take the lead thorough Destro, who powered forward, only to see his fierce effort across the face of goal go just wide. Fiorentina did come under pressure, especially at set-pieces, and also when Florenzi, who was full of energy, pushed forward on the left. But the home side coped. And they did get forward themselves too, through Jovetic. Their best chance came from a fantastic right foot effort from Aquilani: his free-kick rattled the crossbar. The sides went into the half-time break 0-0. But, despite the scoreline, the 1st 45 minutes (plus the 1 minute of injury time) had been extremely exciting and end-to-end stuff.

Chances not taken — Fiorentina came out playing better football in the 2nd half. They started to take control and grew in confidence. But they still did mess things up in defence: first Tomovic and then Rodriguez both failed to clear and handed Destro 2 gilt-edged goal scoring chances. The forward set up Florenzi with the 1st (keeper Neto did brilliantly to save) and then Destro himself missed the 2nd with a left foot effort that he should have done better with. Roma did actually get the ball in the net, via a De Rossi header, but the midfield player was rightly given (just) offside. It was back to square one. Fiorentina pushed forward more and hit the woodwork again, this time through Borja Valero. His splendid left foot shot deserved a goal. Then Destro again wasted a chance when one-on-one with Neto: he lofted the ball over the keeper with a delicate chip – but Savic got back to clear off the line. The 90th minute also passed with the score still 0-0.

Destro scores — The goal came 7 minutes into the 1st half of extra time. The ball fell to Destro who, this time, couldn’t miss after he was set up brilliantly from the right by Pjanic.

More bad luck for the Viola — But it just wasn’t Fiorentina’s night. They fought back immediately, but, rather than brining the equaliser, an effort from Cuadrado hit the woodwork. Taddei, who had come on as a substitute for Piris late in the 2nd half, was sent off after pulling back Borja Valero: he had already been booked 2 minutes earlier. But Fiorentina still couldn’t break through despite the game ending in the 123rd minute – there was even time for Dodò and Cuadrado to both be sent off following fisticuffs almost on the stroke of the final whistle, a melee that involved players from both sides. The 2nd semi-final of the Coppa Italia will therefore be Roma-Inter. They will play each other 3 times in the 10 days from January 20 to January 30: as well as the two-legged Coppa Italia game, the sides will also face each other in Serie A.