Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano says the penalty shoot out Coppa Italia win over Bologna has given meaning to their season. With the game goalless in extra time, La Viola went on to convert all of their penalties from the spot, taking them through to the semi-finals of the competition. Speaking post match, Italiano expressed his satisfaction with the victory, which give purpose to Fiorentina’s season:
“It was a good match, intense and full of emotions. We could have closed it out earlier with several chances, but it was a hard-fought match played at a high pace. Today I think it was a remarkable performance and we are happy to have won. I congratulate Thiago Motta.
“Let’s wait, Atalanta or Milan are both strong but we’ve made sense of our season. To say that we are still in the running in the Coppa Italia also leaves this front open. We managed to do this first phase without a significant number of goals from the strikers. If they manage to unblock themselves they can give us a hand because their goals make the difference. In the end that’s their job. We are working well from all points of view, we have these numbers and with goals we can remain on this performance”.
“They took advantage of the time to dominate the game but in the long run we came out on top. I would like to remind you that they played a day earlier and 24 hours make a difference. There could also have been a lack of intensity on our part. Today the pitch was very slippery and it complicated our work with the ball”.
