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Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano couldn’t hide his disappointment with the stoppage-time defeat to Sassuolo, but turns his focus to the Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus.
The Viola had managed to equalise with Arthur Cabral’s debut goal for the club, even though Giacomo Bonaventura was sent off for dissent, but they were undone by Gregoire Defrel’s diving header with the last kick of the game.
“I had assumed there was an extra man in the box because we were down to 10, but looking at it again, we were all paired with the marking and that goal shouldn’t have happened,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.
Serie A | Sassuolo 2-1 Fiorentina: Dramatic Defrel downs 10-man Viola
“I cannot be calm, it’s impossible after you concede a goal like that 30 seconds from time and bring home zero points. The opening goal could’ve been avoided too, and it hurts because it is not the first time we’ve done that.”
Fiorentina now prepare for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final, as it is the first leg against Juventus and means Dusan Vlahovic’s return to the Stadio Franchi after his bitter January exit.
“Vlahovic is a player who is always hungry, he lives for the goal and is proving himself to be a champion,” said Italiano.
“The Coppa Italia is a target for all four teams in the semi-finals. We will have to approach it as a tie that lasts 180 minutes, so the first leg result is very important.
“I know how much the people of Florence care about this and we feel the same way. I would’ve preferred to go into the Juve game with a positive result here, because losing like that…”
.@acffiorentina, le parole di #Italiano dopo la sconfitta contro il @SassuoloUS https://t.co/11PnxTSSTT
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) February 26, 2022
