Rubino and Harder on target as Fiorentina beat Roma U20 and are off to the final

After a great win in the quarter-finals against Juventus U20, Daniele Galloppa’s team faced Roma U20 in the semi-finals of the tournament. 

Roma came to the Viola Park as a tough opponent to beat – top of the league with 83 points - but Fiorentina Primavera had beaten them in both matches of the regular season. 

The home team chose the same line-up of the quarter-finals and played with the same energy but were careful not to allow too much space for the opponents.

Things got tough for Fiorentina in minute 26, when Roma took the lead with a goal by its captain, Leonardo Graziani, who from just outside the box hit the ball first-time into the bottom corner, making it 1-0.

Despite being behind and the pressure from Roma U20, Galloppa’s team did not lose hope and at minute 40 equalized with Tommaso Rubino, as usual; he received a perfect cross from Jonas Harder and headed it in into the top left corner, the goal of a true striker. 

Fiorentina dominated the second half. After getting very close to the lead multiple times, they made it 2-1 thanks to their captain, Harder, who scored a wonderful goal with a curling right-foot shot into the top right corner, sending the fans wild. 

It was a wonderful comeback victory for Fiorentina U20, who won a very tough match with two goals by two of its most important players this season. The final part of the match was truly breathtaking, as Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Leonardelli kept Roma from scoring the equalizer.

After a long pursuit that started in late summer, Fiorentina have successfully qualified for the final match of the Primavera 1 league. On Friday May 30 at 8:30 pm at Viola Park Fiorentina will take on the winning team between Sassuolo U20 and Inter, who will square off on Tuesday at 8:30 pm.

Roma Primavera 1-2 Fiorentina Primavera 

Scorers: Graziani (R), Rubino (F)

FIORENTINA U20: Leonardelli (GK), Kouadio, Baroncelli, Romani, Trapani, Gudelevicius (Ievoli 64), Harder (C) (Deli 88), Keita, Scuderi (Balbo 46), Rubino (Braschi 83), Tarantino (Caprini 64)

SUBS NOT USED: Vannucchi, Sadotti, Elia, Lamouliatte, Puzzoli, Bertolini, Braschi

Coach Daniele Galloppa

ROMA U20: De Marzi (GK), Mannini, Reale, Nardin (Almaviva 81), Cama, Levak, Romano, Coletta, Marazzotti (Di Nunzio 57), Graziani (C) (Marchetti 74), Della Rocca (Zefi 57)

SUBS NOT USED: Marcaccini, Seck, Golic, Mirra, Sugamele, Bah, Ceccarelli

Coach Gianluca Falsini

BOOKED: Keita (F), Di Nunzio (R)