Raffaele Palladino identifies where Fiorentina got it wrong in their surprise 2-1 Conference League defeat to APOEL in Nicosia. ‘They hurt us with those two counter-attacks.’
The Viola had been on sparkling form going to Cyprus with seven consecutive victories in all competition, including two in the Conference League against The New Saints and St. Gallen.
However, they conceded twice in quick succession before half-time from Anastasios Donis breaking the offside trap and David Abagna making the most of a lucky ricochet.
Jonathan Ikone’s angled drive did get them back into it, but APOEL defended well to maintain the 2-1 result.
See how the game unfolded on the Liveblog.
Palladino identifies Fiorentina mistakes
“I think we prepared in the right way and controlled the game from the start, but these are teams who defend with a low block and only try to counter-attack. We knew that incidents would be decisive and they hurt us with those two counter-attacks,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.
“It became complicated to get it back on track at 2-0 down. We certainly could’ve done better with a few technical errors, but we will analyse what happened and keep our balance as we prepare for the next match.”
The squad rotation seemed a little excessive in defence, as the players did not appear to be entirely comfortable with each other.
“Defenders know that the more they work together, the quicker they understand each other. However, I don’t think it was purely about the defence, because when you allow counter-attacks, that is an error on the transitions made earlier,” concluded Palladino.
The Conference League table now has Fiorentina in eighth place on six points after three rounds, already three points adrift of the leading pack.