Vincenzo Montella has spoken of the importance of getting a win over Roma in Friday night’s game at the Stadio Artemio Franchi – where Fiorentina have not won a league match since the 1-0 victory over Udinese on 6 October.
“We need a win for many reasons, but mainly because of our league standing,” said Montella. “We got a bit of a morale boost at the end of our last game, but we need points. We’re up against a very good side who have lots of options. They play good football and their possession game is very strong. They have the second-best defensive record in the league, so it promises to be an extremely difficult game, but despite our ups and downs this season we’ve shown that we can match the top teams.”
Montella acknowledged that his team have had less time to prepare this week than usual, with the Viola last involved in Serie A action on Sunday night against Inter.
“It’s not been the average week because it’s been shorter with us playing on Sunday and Friday,” he said. “Yesterday was our first proper training session in terms of the workload and the intensity, today is our second. All of the players have recovered though we will need to check a few players, but the team is in good shape and hungry to play again straight away.”
The Fiorentina boss went on to praise his opposite number Paulo Fonseca for his start to life in Italian football.
“He’s got some very good ideas and he’s adapted to the Italian mentality very quickly, changing his style after the start of the season,” he said. “His game focuses on possession football and involves taking some risks. He has a very attacking ethos.”
Montella was bullish in his defence of his team as they look to build on the 1-1 draw with Inter last time out.
“I think that when we have a complete squad, we’re a competitive team,” he said. “We’ve shown that. We have our weaknesses and shortcomings and we have our strengths, but we are a good side and I think that the level of each individual player has increased. We need to work hard to improve, as is normal.”
Fiorentina have one of the lowest shots faced tallies in the league, but Roma have conceded fewer goals than any other team in Serie A this season, leading Montella to speculate that Friday night’s clash will come down to the fine margins.
“I think the majority of games are decided by key details – that’s football,” he said. “Whether they go your way or the way of your opponents depends on your quality, your interpretation of the game and sometimes on your desire – not by luck.”
Published: Thu, 19 Dec 2019 15:07:00 +0100
Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv
By Anna Italia
