Reverse engines, full 180º, nitro boost. After his team’s brutal mid-week loss to Lazio, Cesare Prandelli must have found the right words to remotivate his men Saturday. A battling and determined Fiorentina side, led by the continued moment of form of a reborn Alberto Gilardino, brushed their Genoa visitors aside and went on to take a vital three points in the Serie A.

And speaking of Gilardino, that’s his third goal in five matches. For someone who the previous season could only score 7 in 30 with AC Milan, goal averages are definitely on the rise. Music to Della Valle’s ears…

(From Gazzetta dello Sport): La Viola started the match with great intensity, looking to pressure their opponents high up the field, aided in no small part by the home crowd support (immediately willing to forget the mid-week 0-3 Lazio debacle). It was only natural then, to see Fiorentina get the first scoring chances in this one: first Mutu (header narrowly wide) then Montolivo (cracking shot from mid-range parried away by the keeper) gave Gasperini’s team the first scares. Then of course there was a certain Gilardino, seemingly back to his “good Parma days”: playing as a real target-man, the ex-Milan striker was shielding the ball, allowing his teammates to overlap (Semioli, Felipe Melo, and Gobbi notably), and providing an otherwise constant danger to the Rossoblu defense.

On the other end, Genoa were having some problems getting “into” the game, especially because their coach had chosen to leave Diego Milito on the side. All that changed in the second half though, when the Argentine striker was inserted into the mix. Well served by a Marco Rossi pass, Milito was given a one-on-one chance with Sebastien Frey almost right away, but the French goalie demonstrated (yet again) why he still is one of Serie A’s best keepers around. Just a few minutes earlier, Ruben Olivera had a good mid-range effort saved by Viola’s nº1.

Alas for the visitors, the two Genoan chances were a prelude to Fiorentina’s goal. The provider? Who else but Alberto Gilardino, La Viola’s man-of-the-moment. Controlling a looping ball inside the Genoa box, the Azzurri striker managed to shield it from three nearby defenders, turn around with a few touches, and send an unstoppable diagonal half-volley straight into the bottom right corner. A pure striker’s goal, the kind Viola supporters had not seen since Luca Toni’s departure to Bavaria. 1-0 Fiorentina

At this point, Prandelli decided to play it safe by inserting Pazzini & Santana for Semioli & Gilardino, just to keep his troops fresh on the field. Fiorentina had a few more chances on goal through Mutu (wide) and Osvaldo (well saved by Rubinho), while Frey dominated his box on the other end and kept his team safe. It was thus a well-deserved win for Prandelli’s side, who can look at Tuesday’s UCL fixture against Steaua Bucharest with renewed optimism.

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	FIORENTINA-GENOA 1-0 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 61’ Gilardino (F).
FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Frey – Jorgensen, Dainelli, Kroldrup, Gobbi – Montolivo, Melo, Donadel – Semioli (66’ Santana), Gilardino (66’ Pazzini), Mutu (83’ Osvaldo). (bench: Storari, Gamberini, Zauri, Kuzmanovic). Coach: Prandelli.
GENOA (3-4-3): Rubinho – Papastathopoulos, Ferrari, Criscito – M.Rossi, Milanetto (41′ Juric), Vanden Borre (60’ Modesto), Bocchetti – Olivera, Palladino, Mesto (51’ D.Milito). (bench: Scarpi, Sculli, Jankovic, Biava). Coach: Gasperini.

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Tags: Alberto Gilardino, Cesare Prandelli, Fiorentina, Genoa, Gian Piero Gasperini

Posted in Fiorentina, Genoa |

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