After just one win in the last four matches, Fiorentina have allowed third placed Napoli to open a 10 point advantage in the table. This will be extremely difficult to match in the rest of the season.
Hence, the opportunity to finish in the top three and qualify for the Champions League group stages next season has evaporated for Vincenzo Montella’s men. However, the Italian has said that the opportunity to win the Europa league still exists. Fiorentina will be taking on Juventus in the second leg of the Europa league last 16.
After just one win in the last four matches, Fiorentina have allowed third placed Napoli to open a 10 point advantage in the table. This will be extremely difficult to match in the rest of the season.
Hence, the opportunity to finish in the top three and qualify for the Champions League group stages next season has evaporated for Vincenzo Montella’s men. However, the Italian has said that the opportunity to win the Europa league still exists. Fiorentina will be taking on Juventus in the second leg of the Europa league last 16.
This match will be at home and Fiorentina come into the encounter with a lot of confidence after having drawn the away leg 1-1. The return of Mario Gomez was crucial in this match, as he scored the equaliser. Juventus are regarded as the favourite for this year’s competition. They have little else to worry about in the remainder of the season. They are on the verge of sealing their third consecutive league title and European success is very important for the ‘Old Lady’. Arturo Vidal scored the only goal for Juventus in the first leg.
The table leaders have an enormous advantage over Fiorentina in terms of points, but Montella says that both teams have everything to play for in the second leg.
“I don’t agree that this is effectively the final. We’re only at the last 16. There are great motivations for a game of this importance at this level, against a great opponent. Juventus know that it will be hard for them here but the Bianconeri have got used to playing games like this for many years. We must extract the maximum from our own capabilities and not think about nullifying those of our opponents,” said Montella, who has been linked with the Juventus job in the last few weeks.