Juventus v Fiorentina Live Commentary & Result, 12/02/2023, Serie A

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	NAP Napoli	38	28	6	4	77	28	+49	90	W D W L W
2	LAZ Lazio	38	22	8	8	60	30	+30	74	W W W D L
3	INT Internazionale	38	23	3	12	71	42	+29	72	W W L W W
4	MIL Milan	38	20	10	8	64	43	+21	70	W W W L W
5	ATA Atalanta	38	19	7	12	66	48	+18	64	W L W L L
6	ROM Roma	38	18	9	11	50	38	+12	63	W L D D L
7	JUV Juventus	38	22	6	10	56	33	+23	62	W L L W W
8	FIO Fiorentina	38	15	11	12	53	43	+10	56	W W D W L
9	BOL Bologna	38	14	12	12	53	49	+4	54	W D W D D
10	TOR Torino	38	14	11	13	42	41	+1	53	L W D W D
11	MON Monza	38	14	10	14	48	52	-4	52	L L W W D
12	UDI Udinese	38	11	13	14	47	48	-1	46	L L L L W
13	SAS Sassuolo	38	12	9	17	47	61	-14	45	L D L L D
14	EMP Empoli	38	10	13	15	37	49	-12	43	L D W D W
15	SAL Salernitana	38	9	15	14	48	62	-14	42	L W D W L
16	LEC Lecce	38	8	12	18	33	46	-13	36	L W D D L
17	SPE Spezia	38	6	13	19	31	62	-31	31	L L D W L
18	VER Hellas Verona	38	7	10	21	31	59	-28	31	L D L L W
19	CRE Cremonese	38	5	12	21	36	69	-33	27	W L L L W
20	SAM Sampdoria	38	3	10	25	24	71	-47	19	L D L D L

That concludes our commentary of the Serie A fixture between Juventus and Fiorentina! We hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Juventus host Nantes in the Europa League on Thursday, ahead of a trip to Spezia in a week’s time. Fiorentina travel to Braga in the Europa Conference on Thursday before returning home to play Empoli on the 19th.

Juventus notch their sixth 1-0 win of the season, frustrating Fiorentina at home and taking all three points from the Viola. The lone goal of the game came with just under 10 minutes from the interval, with Di Maria’s lovely cross to the far post headed past Terracciano by a leaping Rabiot. A scrappy and physical affair that saw four yellow cards given in the opening 48 minutes, Italiano’s side were unable to fashion enough chances to beat Szczesny, who only had a handful of saves to make all game. Vlahovic thought he had given Juventus a bit of insurance with a goal 60 seconds before the hour but a VAR review overturned the strike for a marginal offside. Fiorentina would also be denied by the video assistant, with Castrovilli’s would-be 91st-minute equaliser chalked off due to Ranieri’s inability to hold the line during Saponara’s cross.The result sees Juve go up into ninth as a result, while Fiorentina drop to 14th.

90' + 8' FULL-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 FIORENTINA.

M. Kean

Yellow Card

90' + 6' Kean is shown a yellow card in the last seconds of the match for a charging through the back of Milenkovic during an attempt to win an aerial duel.

90' + 4' Juventus are the only team that haven’t conceded goal in the last 15 minutes of games in Serie A this season; their last goal conceded in this period though was scored by Fiorentina’s Gonzalez in May 2022.

90' + 2' The fourth official indicates five minutes will be added to the edge of the match for stoppages.

90' FIORENTINA SCORE BUT IT WON’T COUNT! OFFSIDE! It’s a crucial decision from the referee in the late stages, chalking off Castrovilli’s goal for the narrowest of offsides in the build-up. Saponara’s cross was not properly dealt with by Locatelli, presenting the Fiorentina midfielder with a chance to hammer a volley past Szczesny, but after a lengthy review it appears Ranieri was unable to keep his line! It’s still 1-0 Juve!

F. Kostić

Yellow Card

88' Terzic skips through Locatelli and Rabiot but he's unable to get away from Kostic, whose kick-out brings the Fiorentina substitute down. It's a yellow for the Juventus wing-back as we inch towards injury time.

87' Kean gets on the end of Sandro’s long pass down the pitch but does the clever thing, playing a pass short to Fagioli before holding up play and winding down the clock. With under five minutes to go, his coach will be very happy with that decision.

Bremer

Yellow Card

85' Bremer becomes the fifth player to be shown a yellow card, booked for dragging Castrovilli down to prevent a counter-attack.

L. Paredes

F. Chiesa

83' Chiesa, like Vlahovic before him, ends his day without a goal against his former side. Paredes will be tasked with controlling the tempo of the game and keeping possession.

82' CLOSE AGAIN FROM JOVIC! Biraghi sweeps a tremendous cross towards the penalty spot for Jovic, who sends his glancing header the wrong side of the post by inches!

R. Saponara

G. Bonaventura

80' Already booked, Bonaventura is withdrawn in part to prevent a red card. Saponara is given a chance to make an impact.

A. Terzić

Dodô

80' Terzic is in for Dodo as Fiorentina continue to make alterations.

Arthur Cabral

N. González

80' Arthur comes on for Gonzalez with 10 minutes to go.

78' De Sciglio hooks a hopeful cross into the penalty area but it sails over the head of everybody, including Chiesa at the far post before going behind for a goal-kick.

N. Fagioli

Á. Di María

76' Fagioli comes on for Di Maria, who is responsible for creating the only goal of the match so far.

75' CHANCE! Biraghi scoops a cross into the penalty area for Bonaventura, whose slight flick-on takes it into the path of Jovic. Knowing very little about it, the striker lifts his foot to make contact with the delivery but sends the chance up and over the crossbar.

73' Biraghi sends a dangerous cross into the area for Jovic, only for it to be beaten away by Bremer. Gonzalez latches onto the bouncing ball with an acrobatic overhead kick but he fails to test the goalkeeper as his attempt is driven into a crowd of bodies.

71' Chiesa cuts inside from the left and drags an off-balance shot wide of the target under the careful watch of Castrovilli.

70' Castrovilli zips a low pass into the feet of Jovic, who meets the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box with a deft flick over the Juventus defence. Unfortunately for him, none of his team-mates read the intention which allows Szczesny to take control.

69' As Juventus manager, Allegri has six wins in six home Serie A games against Fiorentina, against no other side does he have more (level with Roma, Udinese and Sassuolo), with two clean sheets in the last three home games.

67' Di Maria's corner from the left flag is glanced towards goal but Kean can't put the finishing touches on the move, missing his kick completely before seeing the ball go out for a goal-kick.

L. Jović

J. Ikoné

65' Fiorentina respond with a switch of their own, replacing Ikone with Jovic.

M. Kean

D. Vlahović

65' Vlahovic's match against his former side comes to an end without a goal as he's replaced by Kean in attack.

64' Bonaventura is in a bit of trouble with the referee, after charging into Rabiot during a goal-kick and sending him down to the turf. The Fiorentina midfielder looked intent on using physicality which could lead to a second yellow but it’s worth nothing more than a talking to from referee Michael Fabbri.

62' Kouame sends an ambitious shot towards goal from just outside the penalty area but the effort blazes over the crossbar.

G. Castrovilli

A. Duncan

61' The previously booked Duncan is replaced with just under 30 minutes remaining. On comes Castrovilli.

59' VLAHOVIC SCORES BUT IT WON’T COUNT! The striker latches onto Kostic’s defence-splitting throughball and spots Terracciano off his line, chipping the goalkeeper and depositing the ball in the back of the net. He opts against celebrating in front of his former side but perhaps he knew he was offside, as VAR overrules the goal after a moment of deliberation! It remains 1-0!

58' Biraghi’s outswinging corner fails to trouble the Juventus defence, with Bremer again strongest in the air to repel the danger.

57' Rabiot again brings Gonzalez down in midfield right under the nose of the referee, who awards Fiorentina a foul but nothing more. He’s already one of four players booked and needs to be a little more reserved if he wishes to stay on the pitch for the entirety of the 90.

55' Fiorentina take a quick free-kick short after Ikone is fouled on the left wing but it’s a poor decision with the first pass towards the penalty area easily intercepted by Bremer.

53' Di Maria’s ensuing outswinging corner is missed by the crowd of bodies, with Ikone gathering the ball near the other flank.

52' Di Maria dances around Amrabat and Ranieri before shifting possession to his right for Kostic, whose cross over to Vlahovic is turned behind for a corner.

50' Dodo looks to keep a Fiorentina attack going with a centring pass for Gonzalez but the full-back telegraphs his idea, allowing Locatelli to step across and win back possession.

G. Bonaventura

Yellow Card

48' Bonaventura looks to step across Di Maria to shepherd the ball out of play but the former Milan midfielder catches the top of the winger’s foot and brings him down with a yelp of pain. It’s a booking for the Fiorentina player - the fourth of the match.

46' Fiorentina get the match restarted from the kick-off!

Fiorentina have a lot in reserve in the second half to push for the equaliser, with Saponara (who scored last week) as well as Arthur and Jovic all ready to enter the fray. Italiano has few other options but to open up and attack, having seen his side do precious little in the opponent’s half in the first period. There’s no doubt Allegri will look to keep the clean sheet and go from there, with Paredes a likely entrant in the second half to help keep possession.

A chippy first half at Allianz Stadium comes to a close with the hosts ahead by a goal to nil, thanks to Rabiot’s header; confirmed only after the use of goal-line technology. The France international got proceedings underway with a booking inside two minutes, which set the tempo for a fiery affair between two long-standing rivals. Neither side were able to heap pressure on the opposition goal but it was the Bianconeri who proved clinical, with Di Maria again involved in everything positive about Allegri’s attack. True chances have been few and far between for Italiano’s side, with Duncan’s long-range strike the closest the visitors came to troubling Szczesny.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 FIORENTINA.

45' + 1' Fiorentina have one last chance to get to the interval level but the referee sides with Juventus during a knee-on-knee clash between Duncan and Chiesa, effectively ending the Viola build-up.

44' The fourth official indicates two minutes will be added to the end of the half for stoppages.

42' Biraghi is being held back by the referee, with the Fiorentina captain getting in the face of former team-mate Vlahovic. Chiesa - another ex-Viola - comes across to try and diffuse the situation but he seemingly makes it worse as the linesman gets involved as well, breaking up the scrum before allowing play to resume.

40' Amrabat runs down a cul-de-sac with three Juventus players converging in midfield to win the ball back from the Morocco international but a careless foul from Kostic gives Fiorentina a chance to retain possession.

38' Biraghi sends a corner in towards the near post but it’s easily cleared away by the defence, who force Fiorentina all the way back to the goalkeeper.

36' Juventus have won just one of their last five league games against Fiorentina (D2 L2), having won nine of their previous 11 Serie A games against the Viola (D1 L1).

Á. Di María

Assist

34' Di Maria once again pulls the strings for Juventus as he's credited with the assist for Rabiot's opener.

A. Rabiot

Goal

34' TERRACCIANO CAN’T KEEP IT OUT! 1-0 JUVENTUS! Di Maria is gifted time and space on the right edge of the penalty area, where he again looks to tease a cross to the far post. Kostic can’t rise high enough but Rabiot is there to clean up the mess. The France international sends a powerful header towards the target that the goalkeeper initially parries, but after a moment or two the referee blows his whistle and points to the kick-off spot!

33' De Sciglio slips a pass inside to Chiesa but he’s immediately crowded out and dispossessed in the aftermath of Juve’s unsuccessful free-kick.

A. Duncan

Yellow Card

31' Duncan cynically brings De Sciglio down 24 yards from goal and gives away a free-kick in an attacking position, earning a yellow card in the process.

30' Neither side has done enough to truly test the opposition’s goalkeeper inside the first 30 minutes, with the better chances falling the way of Juventus. Kostic has looked lively as ever but Vlahovic has not been at his clinical best.

28' Duncan is given a yard of space just outside the Juventus penalty area but he fails to make the Bianconeri pay, dragging a low shot towards goal that’s easily dealt with by the goalkeeper.

26' Biraghi wastes a Fiorentina corner, putting it deep towards the far post without a team-mate in the vicinity. Sandro gets the shout from Szczesny and lets it roll beyond him and behind for a goal-kick.

25' Di Maria takes the ensuing corner but Kouame meets the delivery in the air before Gonzalez is allowed to scramble it away.

23' GREAT STOP! Chiesa curls a lovely cross into the penalty area from the right, looking for Vlahovic on the six-yard box. The striker inexplicably stops his run which allows the ball to run to Kostic at the far post, but his volleyed effort is parried forcefully by Terracciano.

21' Ikone is caught in possession by Locatelli, who is forced to cynically foul the midfielder just outside the centre-circle in an attempt to prevent a counter-attack.

Alex Sandro

Yellow Card

19' A pass from right to left is put too far ahead of Sandro, who is forced into a sliding challenge on Gonzalez, who had beaten him to the loose ball. It’s a dangerous tackle from the Brazil international and he earns a yellow card for the infraction.

18' Play is stopped momentarily for Di Maria, who has gone down after a bit of off-the-ball contact from Amrabat. It’s been a physical match in the opening 18 minutes, with the rivalry still going strong between the two sides.

16' Gonzalez plays a clever disguised pass towards the near post for the run of Bonaventura, who is a step and a half behind the delivery which allows Szczesny to step off his line comfortably and make the save.

14' Fiorentina are enjoying a spell of possession in midfield but a lack of incisive runs is allowing Juventus to keep everything in front of them. The combination of Amrabat, Bonaventura and Duncan in midfield offer ample solidity and effort but it’s not a particularly dynamic trio.

12' KOSTIC GOES CLOSE! A careless pass from Gonzalez into the heart of midfield is easily intercepted by Vlahovic, who plays the ball out to the right for Di Maria. The World Cup winner cuts inside and looks to hit the far post but a deflection takes it into the path of a charging Kostic, who drags his effort wide of the post from close range!

10' Kostic plays a low, inviting cross into the penalty area for Vlahovic but Ranieri is first to the delivery, putting his clearance off the striker and behind for a goal-kick.

8' Dodo goes over slightly easily thanks to a one-handed push from Kostic, with the referee allowing play to continue. The Serbia international cuts a pass back to Vlahovic who returns the service, but the striker plays his team-mate offside.

6' Biraghi opts to take his second set-piece deep but Bremer gets a confident head to the delivery to clear the danger.

5' Biraghi takes Fiorentina’s first corner of the match short to Bonaventura, whose cross from the edge of the penalty area nearly falls to Kouame. Bremer does just enough to turn it behind, giving the visitors a second chance from the flag.

3' Dodo almost dribbles into danger on the edge of his own penalty area before sending a bouncing pass back to his goalkeeper, who volleys it away promptly.

A. Rabiot

Yellow Card

2' Rabiot is shown a yellow card less than 120 seconds into the game for a scissor-style tackle on Gonzalez, who had sped past the France international in midfield.

1' Juventus get the match underway from the kick-off!

Fiorentina make four alterations from the side that lost 2-1 to Bologna one week ago. Ranieri starts ahead of Igor in defence while Duncan is tasked with replacing Barak in midfield. The final two swaps are in attack, where Ikone and Kouame get the nod ahead of Saponara and Jovic.

Juventus make one change to the XI that beat Salernitana 3-0 last Tuesday, with former Viola forward Chiesa replacing the uninvolved Fabio Miretti.

FIORENTINA SUBS: Salvatore Sirigu, Riccardo Saponara, Michele Cerofolini, Aleksa Terzic, Alessandro Bianco, Lorenzo Venuti, Luka Jovic, Gaetano Castrovilli, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Arthur Cabral, Josip Brekalo.

FIORENTINA XI (4-4-3): Pietro Terracciano; Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Luca Ranieri, Cristiano Biraghi; Alfred Duncan, Sofyan Amrabat, Giacomo Bonaventura; Jonathan Ikone, Christian Kouame, Nicolas Gonzalez.

JUVENTUS SUBS: Carlo Pinsoglio, Mattia Perin, Frederico Gatti, Daniele Rugani, Matias Soule, Tommaso Barbieri, Samuel Iling, Leandro Paredes, Nicolo Fagioli, Moise Kean, Enzo Barrenechea.

JUVENTUS XI (3-4-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Filip Kostic, Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, Mattia De Sciglio; Angel Di Maria, Federico Chiesa; Dusan Vlahovic.

With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how the two sides are lining up - starting with our hosts!

Fiorentina have had a rough start to 2023, gaining just four of a possible 18 points available and dropping down into 13th as a result. A comfortable 10 points away from the relegation places, the Viola are a similar distance away from the European spots in what is shaping up to be a season in midtable for Vincenzo Italiano’s side.

Juventus got back to winning ways in the league last time out, thumping Salernitana 3-0 away from home to arrest a three-match stretch without victory. The Bianconeri sit just two points ahead of their opponents today in 12th, though a win and helpful results elsewhere could take Massimiliano Allegri’s side up into ninth.

Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Serie A fixture between Juventus and Fiorentina!

Juventus v Fiorentina Live Commentary, 12/02/2023

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