Fiorentina won the second leg of the Conference League quarter-finals 2-1, but that was not enough owing to their 3-0 deficit from the first leg. The first half immediately got off to a tough start for the hosts as Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr scored the opener. Then in the 30th minute Albert Gudmundsson pulled one back for Fiorentina, converting a penalty. Then in the second half, Cher Ndour made it 2-1 for Fiorentina, but that just was not enough. The Viola can nevertheless keep their heads held high after this performance.
The first clear-cut play from the visitors came in the fourth minute as Sarr made a driving run across the pitch and found Daniel Munoz, whose right-footed effort, however, went wide to the right of David De Gea. In the 17th minute, Crystal Palace took the lead with a well-coordinated play: Munoz provided a cross from the right finding Sarr, who headed it in.
In the 25th minute, Gudmundsson managed to find Manor Solomon, who immediately took a left-footed shot, which was however deflected to the corner by Dean Henderson. Fiorentina found new momentum in the 30th minute as Gudmundsson scored a penalty.
In the 50th minute Daichi Kamada broke out and took a right-footed shot from outside the box, which De Gea miraculously saved, deflecting it to the corner. Fiorentina then scored their second goal in the 53rd minute thanks to an amazing shot by Cher Ndour, finding the bottom corner of the goal, making it 2-1. After that, Fiorentina started pressing high and Gudmundsson had a major chance in the 62nd minute, but Henderson denied him.
Roberto Piccoli also had a chance of scoring, after a team effort, but his header was imprecise. The match ended 2-1 with a great performance by Fiorentina, who failed to qualify for the next round.
Fiorentina 2-1 Crystal Palace (HT: 1-1)
Scorers: Sarr 17, Gudmundsson 30, Ndour 53
BOOKED: Pongracic, Pino, Comuzzo, Sarr, Ranieri, Riad, Ndour, Piccoli
Fiorentina: De Gea; Comuzzo (Kouadio 70), Pongracic, Ranieri, Gosens (Balbo 70); Mandragora, Fagioli (Ndour 46); Harrison, Gudmundsson (Fabbian 75), Solomon (Fazzini 75); Piccoli.
Subs not used: Christensen, Leonardelli, Kospo, Deli, Fabbian, Fazzini, Braschi, Puzzoli.
Coach: Vanoli
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix (Riad 41), Canvot; Munoz, Wharton (Lerma 30), Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino (Hughes 73); Mateta (Strand Larsen 46).
Subs not used: Matthews, Benitez, Johnson, Clyne, Larsen, Sosa, Rodney, Devenny, Cardines.
Coach: Glasner.
