Read coach Stefano Pioli’s comments after Fiorentina 2-2 Bologna 

Do you see the glass half full or half empty? There were some major mistakes by the players

“I don’t think it’s a matter of the glass being half full or half empty. I think we didn’t deserve to lose. I think that some key incidents punished us excessively. We didn’t build up the first part of our plays well, that’s true. But that’s what it’s like with Bologna. They press high. We should’ve looked for Moise [Kean] in space more. When we were able to play the ball to him, we came up with some good plays. Of course, we could’ve equalized with Ranieri and with Kean at the start of the second half. Then, however, they immediately scored a second goal. 

“Fiorentina are a team that didn’t want to give up and that’s something very important. We can do better from a technical and tactical point of view. But we had more chances and took more shots on target. We’re not fully satisfied with the result because we want to win. Fiorentina’s current position in the table is unacceptable. But we’re going to push through. We want to grow and get out of this situation, one game at a time.”

You made some big substitutions in the second half. Does it make sense to question some of the regular players of this team? Some performances were very poor.

“I don’t like the word you used, but everyone is free to speak as they wish to. I look at a player’s performance and then decide who gets to play. There are no regular players or substitutes. I make my choices so that the team can win.”

There were some major mistakes in defense. There have been some protests by fans against the club. What’s your opinion on this?

“In some cases we were too far from our opponents in defense. But on the first goal by [Santiago] Castro there were three different aerial duels that we weren’t able to win and we gave the opponent too much space. This, however, was not because the defensive set-up didn’t work. Kean and [Albert] Gudmundsson had some chances in front of the goal. Bologna got some chances and did a better job than us. So we need to improve. 

“Regarding the protests, we found a great atmosphere at the stadium. I have to thank the fans, because we’re in a tough spot: we were bottom of the table, now maybe we’re second to last, which is unacceptable. They supported us throughout the match. If they thought they needed to protest, I accept that: the fans are always right. I agree that they have a right to protest our league position. But I believe that today’s performance is of a team who do not want to give up.”

There was a lot of confusion regarding the VAR. What do you think about this matchday and what do you expect next?

“There’s a lot of confusion. Because it’s not clear who gets to make a decision. To me this is a problem. I believe the referee must decide more than those operating the VAR. And to me this isn’t always the case.”