Fiorentina v Cremonese Live Commentary & Result, 2023/04/27, Coppa Italia

That's all for today, goodbye!

Fiorentina will face Inter in the Coppa Italia final while Cremonese's cup run comes to an end. Their attention turns back to their relegation battle as they host Verona in the league. Fiorentina play Sampdoria in their next Serie A fixture.

The first half was very quiet from both sides. Although Fiorentina dominated possession, they were never able to create a clear-cut chance in the first 45 minutes. Cremonese looked to play counter-attacking football, but their progression up the pitch was slow and lacked quality. Both goalkeepers were pretty comfortable as the scoreline remained goalless going into the break. The second period was almost identical to the first. The quality of football was poor and neither side could find a breakthrough. Gonzalez had the best chance of the game, but his curling effort failed to hit the target. The match ended 0-0 but Fiorentina progress into the finals after a 2-0 win on aggregate.

90' + 5' FULL TIME: FIORENTINA 0-0 CREMONESE

90' + 3' Even with just a few minutes to go, Cremonese still cannot get the ball forward and into a dangerous position. Fiorentina's defence has not been tested whatsoever.

C. Kouamé

N. González

90' + 1' Gonzalez makes way for Kouame as Fiorentina's final change of the game.

90' There will be a minimum of five additional minutes.

89' The Fiorentina fans are bouncing in the stands as they know they are heading to the final. The Cremonese players have not done enough in this game to force a comeback.

87' The midfield is becoming very open now as both teams are sending more players forward, while also growing in fatigue.

85' The Cremonese players are doing their best to keep this match competitive, but the Fiorentina players look at ease in the latter stages of the game.

S. Amrabat

G. Castrovilli

83' Amrabat replaces Castrovilli for the final few minutes of this second leg.

L. Sernicola

Yellow Card

82' Sernicola goes into the referee's book for a reckless challenge on Biraghi.

81' Ferrari makes a crucial sliding challenge on the edge of his own box to stop Castrovilli from going one-on-one with Sarr. Important challenge from the defender.

79' Biraghi takes two corners in quick succession, one from each side, for Fiorentina. Neither cross leads to any danger as Cremonese clear the ball away on the second attempt.

77' Dodo waves his arms at the Fiorentina fans to get them going, and they respond by raising the volume levels in the stadium. This game should be comfortable enough for the hosts to see through now.

75' CHANCE! Fiorentina break forward after Barak finds Cabral with a lofted pass. The forward lays the ball off to Gonzalez, who tries to curl the ball into the far corner but misses the goal.

72' Cremonese win their second corner of the match and Pickel gets to the ball before Terracciano, but fails to hit the target with his header.

M. Castagnetti

F. Afena-Gyan

70' Castagnetti comes on to replace Afena-Gyan for Cremonese.

70' Afena-Gyan is not able to continue for Cremonese and makes his way off the pitch with the physios.

C. Buonaiuto

G. Quagliata

68' Buonaiuto replaces Quagliata as Cremonese desperately search for a way back into this tie.

66' Biraghi takes an in-swinging corner for hosts, but once again Cremonese deal with the cross. Neither side look like scoring in this one.

R. Sottil

J. Ikoné

65' Sottil replaces Ikone after a quiet game from the winger.

L. Ranieri

Igor

64' Ranieri comes on for Igor, who cannot continue due to injury.

63' Igor is down on the pitch and receiving help from the physios. Fiorentina are getting ready to make a few changes.

61' Fiorentina have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in four of their four games, more than any other team in the Coppa Italia this season.

Igor

Yellow Card

59' Igor receives a yellow card for a needless challenge near the halfway line.

58' Dodo goes on a lung-busting run through the middle of the pitch before laying the ball off to Cabral. The striker tries to find a team-mate with a cross, but his pass is cut out promptly.

C. Dessers

D. Okereke

56' Dessers replaces Okereke in the Cremonese attack.

54' Fiorentina are not pressing as high anymore as they can see Cremonese are attacking with more numbers. The visitors are preparing to make a substitute.

52' Cremonese are committing a lot more players forward now when attacking as they have nothing to lose in this second half.

50' Gonzalez wins a free-kick on the left wing after a foul from Afena-Gyan. Biraghi takes the set piece, but it comes to nothing for Fiorentina.

48' Fiorentina are moving the ball around very patiently to start the second period as they wait for an opening in the Cremonese defence.

46' Galdames gets the second half underway for Cremonese!

E. Valeri

P. Ghiglione

46' Valeri replaces Ghiglione, who was on a yellow card, at half-time.

Fiorentina will be more than happy to see a repeat of the first half. The last thing the hosts will want is an end-to-end game that could jeopardise their lead. Cremonese will need to play with more bravery and commit more bodies forward if they want to make a comeback.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: FIORENTINA 0-0 CREMONESE

45' + 1' Gonzalez finds Castrovilli at the near post with a decent cross, but the midfielder's header goes wide of the target.

45' There will be a minimum of one additional minute.

43' Dodo and Mandragora send in crosses from the left and right side respectively, but neither come to fruition for Fiorentina. Cabral looks frustrated in the box.

41' Cremonese are trying to press higher up the pitch now to try and get a goal back before the break. Fiorentina do not look fazed by the away side's change in tactics.

Dodô

Yellow Card

39' Dodo receives a yellow card for simulation after diving in the penalty area.

37' The quality of this fixture is very poor at the moment. Neither side are causing much danger to the opponent's goal, but Fiorentina will not mind this too much due to their 2-0 aggregate lead.

35' Gonzalez is receiving treatment from the physios after a collision with a Cremonese player. The winger looks able to continue for Fiorentina.

33' Cremonese have had just one shot in the game so far and a single touch in the opposition box. They will need to change something if they want to progress to the final.

31' Mandragora tries his luck from the edge of the box after a corner is cleared away by the Cremonese defenders, but the midfielder gets his shot all wrong and the visitors come away with the ball.

29' Igor has a half chance at the back post after a cross comes in from the left wing, but his header is easy to save for Sarr.

27' Fiorentina fans inside the stadium are fairly quiet now as their side are not providing much quality in the game. The away fans are still creating a lot of noise for their side.

25' Cremonese are trying to hold a higher line now to help them win the ball in a better position, but they are still yet to make an impact on this game.

23' Cabral does well to shield the ball from Pickel and win a free-kick. The two players get slightly heated after the challenge, but the referee calms things down.

P. Ghiglione

Yellow Card

21' Ghiglione receives the first booking of the match after a poor challenge in his own half.

19' Cremonese are not playing like a team who can get two or three goals to turn this tie around. Fiorentina look far too comfortable when defending and passing at the moment.

17' Dodo loses the ball in a bad position for Fiorentina, but Galdames' pass to Afena-Gyan is very poor and the hosts regain possession.

15' Biraghi gets down the left wing and tries to send in a cross, but Ghiglione is able to get across and block the pass.

13' The tempo of this match is too far high for either side to be able to control. There is a lot of turnovers happening due to the nature of the game.

11' Fiorentina are dominating possession at the moment, but they are struggling to break into the opposition box as Cremonese are defending well.

9' Both sets of fans are creating an incredible atmosphere inside the stadium. The Cremonese players will need as much help as they can get to overturn the two-goal deficit from the first leg.

7' Cremonese are trying to soak up the pressure from Fiorentina before hitting them on the counter-attack, but the visitors are moving the ball forward far too slowly.

5' Biraghi is in a bit of pain after Ghiglione catches him in a delicate place, but the defender is able to carry on. Fiorentina are starting well here.

3' It is a frantic start from both sides as they each look to get an early goal and take the pressure off themselves.

1' Fiorentina get the game underway at Stadio Artemio Franchi!

The players are making their way out of the tunnel and onto the pitch!

Three of Cremonese’s last six Coppa Italia ties have been settled in either extra time or penalties.

Italiano makes four changes as Igor, Castrovilli, Gonzalez, and Ikone come into the starting lineup. Ballardini makes nine changes to his Cremonese starting 11 as only Sernicola and Meite keep their places.

SUBS: Michele Cerofolini, Tommaso Vannucchi, Luka Jovic, Riccardo Saponara, Aleksa Terzic, Luca Ranieri, Lorenzo Venuti, Lucas Martinez, Alfred Duncan, Riccardo Sottil, Sofyan Amrabat, Alessandro Bianco, Josip Brekalo, Christian Kouame.

Fiorentina (4-3-3): Pietro Terracciano; Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Igor Julio, Cristiano Biraghi; Antonin Barak, Rolando Mandragora, Gaetano Castrovilli; Nicolas Gonzalez, Arthur Cabral, Jonathan Ikone.

SUBS: Marco Carnesecchi, Gianluca Saro, Emanuele Valeri, Johan Vasquez, Daniel Ciofani, Cristian Buonaiuto, Matteo Bianchetti, Michele Castagnetti, Christian Acella, Marco Bennasi, Cyriel Dessers, Alberto Basso.

Cremonese (4-3-1-2): Mouhamadou Sarr; Leonardo Sernicola, Luka Lochoshvili, Alex Ferrari, Paolo Ghiglione; Charles Pickel, Soualiho, Meite, Giacomo Quagliata; Pablo Galdames; David Okereke, Felix Afena-Gyan.

Cremonese have already shown in this competition that they can defy the odds and cause an upset. They knocked out both Napoli and Roma on their way to the semi-final, also beating the latter in the league. Davide Ballardini’s team have won two of their last three games but did face a heavy 3-0 loss against Udinese on the weekend.

Fiorentina won the first leg 2-0 thanks to goals from Arthur Cabral and Nicolas Gonzalez. Vincenzo Italiano’s side have struggled for form since the first leg, winning just once in five competitive matches. They have shipped six goals in their last two games, both 3-2 defeats, but will still be favourites heading into this tie.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg between Fiorentina and Cremonese.

Fiorentina v Cremonese Live Commentary, 2023/04/27

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