Italiano: ‘Fiorentina step forward, but Gonzalez hurt’

Vincenzo Italiano sees winning the Conference League group and avoiding the play-offs as ‘a step forward from last season,’ but the Nico Gonzalez injury overshadowed it.

The Viola go through as group winners and are still unbeaten, thanks to three victories and three draws, in which they scored 14 goals and conceded six.

They had to avoid defeat in Budapest to guarantee avoiding the play-offs, and it was in doubt for a while when Kristoffer Zachariassen put Ferencvaros in front.

However, Luca Ranieri came to the rescue again from a flicked-on corner for the 1-1 result, his third Conference League goal.

“The objective was first place and we achieved it, doing well to react to going a goal down,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

“We did risk conceding a second, but also threatened to win 2-1 ourselves. It was not easy, but we avoid the play-offs and that is already a step forward from last season. It is good to take something out of the packed fixture list.”

There was no mood to celebrate, because Nico Gonzalez was stretchered off in tears after seeming to pull the flexor or hamstring in his right leg.

By the reaction from the Argentina international, it would seem to be a serious setback.

“He paid the price for being out of shape after those eight days without being able to really train, as the moment the fitness levels drop, there is this risk. We had protected him by not starting against Roma, he felt good and wanted to play today. I think it’s a thigh strain, we can only hope it is nothing too serious.”

Considering the good season Fiorentina are having, could they seek a new forward on the January transfer market?

“Riccardo Sottil showed signs of improvement and I hope Nico won’t be out for too long. If we manage to be more incisive and everyone starts to convert more of their chances, then I don’t think we need any extra players. But we’ll see what happens.

“Clearly, nobody in the current squad has the same characteristics as Nico Gonzalez, his ability in front of goal, his sharpness and cool head.”