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Alberto Gilardino Late Show Gives Fiorentina Vital Win Against 10 Man Atalanta

Alberto Gilardino was the hero for Fiorentina as they beat 10 man Atalanta in Bergamo.
Atalanta 1-2 Fiorentina

Apr 5, 2009 2:53:39 PM

Marino Defendi - Atalanta-Fiorentina - Serie A (Grazia Neri)

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Marino Defendi - Atalanta-Fiorentina - Serie A (Grazia Neri)

Teams

A lucky deflection saw Giavinto Plasmati give Atalanta the lead against the run of play. However, Alberto Gilardino won a penalty and Stevan Jovetic converted from twelve yards against 10 men after Federico Peluso was shown a straight red. Gilardino then popped up two minutes from time to grab a late winner as the Viola march further towards the Champions League places. However, The game was marred by news that Atalanta fans had damaged the Fiorentina team bus before kick off.

First Half

Atalanta kicked off and it was a scrappy start to the game as both teams tried to settle into their rhythms. Fiorentina were without the injured Adrian Mutu as they struggled to create any chance worthy of mention. The Nerazzurri on the other hand were compact and well organised. Sergio Almiron started in midfield after Gianluca Comotto picked up a knock during the warm up session for the away side.

Almiron was the first in the book after he hacked down Jamie Valdes. It was the Atalanta midfielder who had the best chance when he was fed by a delightful pass from Diego De Ascentis. Valdes burnt Manuel Pasqual on the right as he raced towards Frey, but he got it completely wrong when he tried to cut in on his left and the chance crumbled. Down the other end, Federico Peluso made a last-ditch challenge on Alberto Gilardino who was clean through. The defender timed his tackle perfectly as the striker appealed for a penalty, but Matteo Trefoloni waved it away. Gilardino then won a free kick on the edge of the box as he fooled Giampaolo Bellini into making the tackle. Pasqual stepped up for it, but his strong attempt cannoned back off the wall.

Fiorentina were in control, but they lacked the creativity and spark which Mutu usually offers. The play making duties fell to Riccardo Montolivo. The Italian saw Gilardino's clever run in behind the central Nerazzurri defenders and played the lob through ball. However, the linesman was quick to raise his flag. The striker was just off. With the striker the lone ranger up front, Fiorentina were forced to play long ball, but it was not effective as good spells of possession were wasted.

The Viola were dominating the affair as they pressed the home side back. Montolivo's cross from the left was excellently controlled by Gilardino in the box, the striker spun on six pence, but there was no way through so he laid the ball off for Franco Semioli to striker. The number 7 hit the ball perfectly along the ground and towards the far post, Andrea Consigli was well beaten by the effort, but it went agonisingly wide.

Atalanta were happy to sit back and hit the Viola on the break. Sergio Floccari saw Garics free down the right, the defender crossed in for the hitman who turned Dario Dainelli, but his effort was weak and ended up in Sebastien Frey's grateful hands. Stevan Jovetic tried his luck from distance with a belting left-foot drive, but it flew wide. Good chances were being created at both ends, but the quality of finishing was destitute.

Fiorentina were in the driving seat, but Gilardino always seemed to wither when on the ball. Bellini should have put his side in front when Garics found him in the box with a pinpoint crosss. However, the stopper dragged his header off target. Frey was rooted, and lucky the ball went wide. The French goalkeeper was tested by a Floccari drive on the verge of half time. The hitman made space on the edge of the box and he unleashed a powerful strike. Frey got down low and towards his far post as he tipped the ball away with his left hand. The save was top-class and it ensured his side stayed level.

Second Half

The Nerazzurri made one change at half time as Giavinto Plasmati came on for Marino Defendi who was rather ineffective throughout the first half. The swap almost paid off at Plasmati found Floccari with great vision, the striker skipped his way cleverly into the box, but his effort was charged down by Marco Donadel who saved the Viola once again.

It wasn't long before the super substitute got onto the score sheet. Floccari found Plasmati on the edge of the box and he turned well to get his effort underway. It was lucky though as the ball took a massive deflection off Luciano Zauri as it span up and over a helpless Frey. It was harsh on the away team as they had been in command up until that point.

Gilardino tried the instant response down the other end with a long range drive, but it was woefully inaccurate. The Italian had the ball in the net after he was found by Almiron from the right. The striker controlled and finished brilliantly, but the goal was chalked off for offside. It was a harsh decision as the goal seemed legitimate upon the replay.

Gilardino's pressure continued and it finally paid off when he was brought down in the box by Peluso. It was a clear penalty and the referee had no second thoughts. Peluso was also shown a straight red as he was the last man and denied the striker a perfect scoring chance with his challenge. Cesare Prandelli asked Jovetic to take it and he made no mistake as he smashed it hard and low into the bottom-right corner. Consigli got his hand to it, but the striker was too hot to handle.

Ten man Atalanta started to crumble to the pressure as the rain began to pour down on the Atleti Azzurri D'Italia stadium. Fiorentina waged a relentless campaign as they created plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and desperate defending from the home side saw the scores stay level. Gilardino then had another goal disallowed for offside. This time he was off side. The striker followed up a rebound from Jovetic's header to tap home, but he was on the wrong side of defence.

Fiorentina created chance after chance and finally found the lead when Gilardino popped up to score a late winner. The striker latched onto Semioli's low cross towards the near post to spin his shot over Consigli and into the net from close range. It was cruel on the home side, but the Viola did dominate to take home maximum points.

Teams

Atalanta 4-4-1-1: Consigli, Garics, Capelli, Peluso, Bellini, Defendi (Plasmati), De Ascentis, Parravicini, Padoin, Valdes (Pellegrino), Floccari (Talamonti).

Fiorentina 4-4-2: Frey, Donadel, Dainelli, Zauri, Pasqual, Kuzmanovic, Almiron (Bonazzoli), Montolivo, Semioli, Gilardino, Jovetic (Vargas).

Goals: Plasmati 48', Jovetic (Pen) 58', Gilardino 88'.

Cards

Yellow: Almiron, Valdes, Parravicini, Plasmati, Padoin, Gilardino.

Red: Peluso.

Referee: Matteo Trefoloni

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