Italian Serie A – First half review: Fiorentina verus Cagliari
Fiorentina started the match off brightly as Mutu was in action in the second minute of the match. The ex-Chelsea striker missed the Cagliari goal by a whisker with his first shot of the match as the ball went out of play for a
goal kick for the visitors. In the 8th minute of the match, the Romanian striker was in action yet again as he unleashed a half volley from outside the right side of the Cagliari penalty area. However, his threatening shot was deflected off Agazzi
as Santana was waiting to pounce on a mistake by the Cagliari goalkeeper.
In the 20th minute, Fiorentina were threatening yet again and this time it was Santana who played in Mutu. The prolific striker didn’t need an invitation to try his luck on goal as the ball was swept away by Agazzi yet
again. The Cagliari goalie had a very good first half as he kept his team in the match for most of the first half.
Fiorentina dominated possession throughout the first twenty minutes of the first half; they pressurized the weak Cagliari defense into mistakes but unfortunately they were not able to take the lead early on to enforce panic in
Cagliari’s ranks. Nonetheless, their remarkable skills on the ball from footballers like Mutu and Santana were a sight to behold for everyone that was supporting the Viola during the encounter.
Fiorentina used the width of the field to their maximum ability as in the 33rd minute of the match; Santana who was running the show in the center of the park sprayed the ball out wide to Ljajic. But luckily for Cagliari,
the winger’s cross was blocked as the referee unfairly pointed towards a Cagliari throw-in. The referee’s decision incited a strong reaction from the crowd but as soon as Fiorentina regained possession, the crowd calmed down.
In the 35th minute, Cagliari built up pressure on Fiorentina against the run of play as Matri was played in by Nene; however the forward was whistled off-side just when he thought that he was in an on-side position to
open the scoring for his team. Cagliari really found it hard to influence the match in the first half of the match; they were just out numbered in the center of the park due to Fiorentina’s five man midfield.
In the 38th minute of the match, Fiorentina were given a free kick by the referee as Mutu was brought down near the left hand side of Cagliari’s penalty area. It was a fantastic opportunity for the Viola to draw first
blood right before the half time whistle but the ensuing free kick was well wide of the mark. Fiorentina ended the half in attacking fashion but they failed to open the scoring. Nonetheless it was a good half for the home side whereas Cagliari will consider
themselves lucky to be on level terms at the half time break with the score line at 0-0.
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