Fiorentina see off Cremonese in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final
Pursuing a sixth successive away victory across all competitions, Fiorentina began assertively under the floodlights of the Stadio Giovanni Zini, as only a stunning double-save from Mouhamadou Sarr denied the visitors the game’s opening goal.
Seeking to add another name to their list of impressive scalps across the 2022/23 Coppa Italia campaign after already knocking out runaway Serie A leaders Napoli and Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma, Cremonese were not shy in their attempts to break the deadlock, as only a brilliant one-handed save from La Viola goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano denied his fellow countryman Frank Tsadjout.
After emerging as 2-0 winners at the Stadio Giovanni Zini as recently as the middle of March, Fiorentina again found the back of the net after 20 minutes as Arthur Cabral magnificently rose to head Cristiano Biraghi’s enticing cross past Sarr.
With Marco Carnesecchi demoted to a seat on the substitutes' bench, Sarr again justified his selection in the 33rd minute as the Senegalese goalkeeper instinctively kept out Jonathan Ikone’s close-range strike.
Cremonese manager Davide Ballardini made the decision to amend his attacking assets for the second half and was almost rewarded immediately for his gamble, but Terracciano was up to the challenge, producing two sublime saves to deny halftime introductions Cyriel Dessers and Cristian Buonaiuto.
However, it was to be Fiorentina who were given a glorious opportunity to double their lead as VAR intervened to recommend referee Maurizio Mariani consult his on-pitch monitor, and then award a subsequent penalty after Emanuel Aiwu appeared to have handled on the goal line.
To make matters worse for Cremonese, not only did Nicolas Gonzalez confidently dispatch the resulting spot-kick, but Aiwu was also shown a straight red card.
The victory extends Fiorentina's unbeaten record to 11 matches across all competitions, as Vincenzo Italiano's side return to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the second leg at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, despite staring at an immediate return to Serie B, Cremonese still have a chance of making a first-ever appearance in a Coppa Italia final if Ballardini’s side can pull off a three-goal margin victory in Florence.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Arthur Cabral (Fiorentina)