Conference League Liveblog: Club Brugge vs Fiorentina - May 8 ...

7 days ago
Club Brugge vs Fiorentina

Football Italia Live Blog
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19:43 Full time!

The final whistle has blown and Fiorentina are through. Truly heartbreaking for Club Brugge, who’ll rightfully feel that their chances have been stolen away from them by some frankly shocking officiating. Not an enjoyable watch particularly and soured further by the referee.

19:39 Nzola booked

Yellow card for an incredibly cynical move, kicking away the ball as Club Brugge prepare a free kick.

19:38 Inches away!

Vanaken was inches away from netting a crucial goal for Club Brugge but a desperate save from Terraciano poked the ball wide.

19:37 Odoi red

A red card was shown to Odoi, who was on the bench, after tensions rose on the touchline.

19:34 Added time

Seven minutes of added time here.

19:33 Fiorentina changes

Off: Beltran

On: Ranieri

19:31 Clock ticking

Approaching the final few minutes of regular time now, leaving Club Brugge with a mountain to climb after a frankly baffling call from the referee, which has derailed the tie.

19:29 Club Brugge changes

Off: Skoras, Odoi

On: Nielsen, Nusa

19:28 1-1 Fiorentina!

Beltran easily dispatches the penalty to make it 1-1, 4-3 on aggregate. An incredibly soft penalty, hard to not feel sorry for Club Brugge.

19:26 Fiorentina penalty!

Fiorentina have been awarded a penalty after a fairly soft foul by Mechele on Nzola.

19:18 Now the post!

Kouame does well with his header from a curling cross but it bounces off the post, again letting Club Brugge off the hook.

19:16 Crossbar!

Biraghi’s free kick is much better this time, ricocheting off the crossbar and going out.

19:15 Booking

Odoi booked as Fiorentina given a free kick just on the edge of the penalty area.

19:14 First changes

Club Brugge: Vetlesen off, Zinckernagel on.

Fiorentina: Belotti and Arthur off, Nzola and Duncan on.

19:10 Conference quality

Both sides look pretty poor here, neither managing to hold onto the ball for long nor produce any real chances of note in the second half. This is certainly one of the matches of all time.

19:06 Shocking attempt

Biraghi really failed to connect with this free kick, watching it sail over the bar. Poor, really poor.

19:05 Dangerous free kick

Fiorentina are awarded a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box after a foul by Vetlesen on Dodo.

18:57 Positivity

Fiorentina are looking a little more ambitious and positive when breaking into the Club Brugge half, but still missing that end product.

18:52 Resumption

Play resumes with Club Brugge on the front foot.

18:49 Smoke

Flares and smokes let off at half time have left visibility incredibly low here. Play has been paused.

18:48 Second half kicks off

The second half has started!

18:33 Half time!

Half time at the Jan Breydel Stadium. 1-0 to Club Brugge on the night, 3-3 on aggregate.

18:31 One minute remains

Only one minute of added time here in the first half. Italiano will need to fire up his players if Fiorentina are to show something of note in the second half.

18:28 First yellow

Ordonez is shown the first yellow card of the match after a foul on Belotti. It looks a little harsh.

18:21 Beautiful chance!

An absolutely stunning volley from Kouame is so bitterly close to going in, firing off the underside of the crossbar and going out. Incredibly unlucky.

18:16 Confusion

Confusion at the back almost sees Fiorentina concede a second after Milenkovic falls limply to a slight challenge, allowing the Belgians to burst forward. Dodo does well to get in the way of the open net, nicking the ball and putting it behind.

18:12 Stop start

Tension clearly visible on the pitch here as play continues stopping and starting, with players often hitting the deck at the slightest contact.

18:09 Fiorentina wasteful!

Fiorentina waste an absolutely golden chance; a through-ball in the middle allows Gonzalez to take a one-on-one, but his limp shot is easily saved by Mignolet. Belotti’s follow-up is no better and goes wide, keeping things 1-0.

18:06 Club Brugge 1-0!

De Cuyper gets on the end of a curling cross to guide the ball into the back of the net, making it 3-3 on aggregate in the 20th minute.

18:04 Mandragora skies it

A wonderful burst forward down the left from Belotti leads to a cross to Gonzalez, whose header lands to Mandragora. The Fiorentina man leans back and his shot flies over the bar, letting the hosts off the hook.

18:01 First corner

Club Brugge win the first corner of the match, but it comes to nothing.

17:56 Pressure rising

Club Brugge are starting to apply the pressure a little here, keeping Fiorentina boxed in their defensive third.

17:52 First free kick

Fiorentina win a free kick in the midfield after some clever hold-up play from Belotti.

17:50 Electric atmosphere

The opening few minutes have seen both sides try to push forward as the home fans loudly cheer on Club Brugge, setting up a tense and exciting clash.

17:45 Kick off!

We have kick off at the Jan Breydel Stadium!

17:30 Starting line-ups

Club Brugge (4-4-2): Mignolet; Sabbe, Mechele, Odoi, Ordonez; Skoras, Vetlesen, Vanaken, De Cuyper; Igor Thiago, Jutgla.

Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Arthur, Mandragora; Gonzalez, Beltran, Kouame; Belotti.

Join us for all the action as it happens from tonight’s decisive Conference League semi-final clash between Club Brugge and Fiorentina.

The battle between the Blauw-Zwart and the Viola kicks off at 17.45 UK time at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Brugge.

Fiorentina hold a 3-2 aggregate lead over Club Brugge after their success in the first leg in Florence last week, leaving the hosts with a key mission.

The Italian side cannot count on Riccardo Sottil, whose season is over after a fractured collarbone, and Gaetano Castrovilli, who isn’t part of their UEFA registered squad.

Club Brugge are without goalkeeper Nordin Jackers and Bjorn Meijer, both of whom are out injured. The rest of their squad is fully fit and ready to face the Viola.

The other side of the Conference League bracket sees Olympiacos take on Aston Villa, with the Greek side holding a 4-2 lead after their surprising victory in the first leg.

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