Can Fiorentina Turn Utrecht’s Two-Goal Lead into a Final Place?
ACF Fiorentina must overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit when FC Utrecht visit on 8 May for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final.
A place in the UEFA Europa League final is at stake, and ACF Fiorentina have left themselves a steep climb: FC Utrecht arrive with a 2-0 lead from the first leg. Why should the Dutch leaders be expected to hand back that advantage now?
Utrecht won 2-0 on Thursday, 1 May, with Josip Dönhöfer scoring in the 27th minute and Cătălin Medeşan adding the second in the 78th. The same clubs drew 0-0 on 25 October. Those meetings now frame the tie: Fiorentina have not scored against Utrecht this season, and the Italians need at least two goals merely to draw level on aggregate.
The first-leg defeat arrived on a difficult day for Fiorentina, who had won 3-2 after extra time against Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub on 17 April. Utrecht have now gone eight league games unbeaten. In their respective domestic leagues, Utrecht lead the Eredivisie with 64 points from 30 games, while Fiorentina are fourth in Italian Serie A with 68 points from 34 matches. Now those standings count for nothing. This is a knockout tie, and the final is the prize.
Utrecht lead the Eredivisie with 64 points from 30 games, their recent league form reading W-D-W-W-D. They are top of their own competition, with 64 points. Fiorentina are fourth in Italian Serie A, with 68 points from 34 matches, but their recent league form—W-L-D-L-W—offers no guarantee of a European recovery. Those domestic campaigns are backdrop, not a route through this tie.
The visitors have personnel concerns too. Matteo Sarini, a regular at right-back, is out with fractured ribs and is expected back about 2 June. At Utrecht, Joan Miquel Torres and Dönhöfer are injured; Dönhöfer nevertheless scored in the first leg before his bruised ankle became part of the story. Richard Armah-Sackey is fit but is not expected to start after beginning only two of Utrecht’s last four games.
There is a distinctly Italian stake in this Dutch challenge. Fiorentina have made the final a possibility, but possibility is not enough after a two-goal home defeat. Utrecht’s 4-4-2 has been their settled shape; Fiorentina have stuck with a 4-2-3-1. Formation is only the opening argument. Fiorentina must make the tie feel alive, and quickly.