Fiorentina recorded a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in their International Champions Cup match in Florence on Sunday.
The home side took a two-goal lead inside the opening 12 minutes courtesy of a double from Federico Bernardeschi.
Luis Suarez had one back for Barcelona not long after, but that was where the scoring ended as the Catalan outfit suffered a third successive defeat in pre-season.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two European rivals.
Match statistics
FIORENTINA
Shots: 7
On target: 2
Possession: 29%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 6
BARCELONA
Shots: 13
On target: 8
Possession: 71%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 7
Was the result fair?
In truth, Barcelona were a little unfortunate to suffer defeat in Florence. Statistics rarely paint a false picture, especially in football, and the fact that Barca dominated all of the major areas is an indication of what occurred. The La Liga outfit were in control for long periods of the match, but a strong eight-minute spell from the home side ultimately proved the difference between the two teams. The first goal came after just four minutes when Bernardeschi headed an excellent Borja Valero cross into the far corner of the net.
The Italian doubled his tally just eight minutes later when he converted a low cross from Joaquin and at that point, Barca looked in trouble. The response from the away side was strong, however, and they deserved to halve the deficit through Suarez, who was a constant threat during his time on the field. There could have been three or four more goals in the first period, but both goalkeepers were in fine form. Opportunities were few and far between in the second half, however, with the raft of changes harming the flow. On balance, a draw perhaps would have been a fair result, but both sides will feel that they deserved to win.
Fiorentina's performance
Finishing fourth in Serie A last season was no disgrace, but their humiliation in the Europa League proved the final straw for Vincenzo Montella, who lost his job at the end of the campaign. Paulo Sousa is the manager now tasked with securing a top-three finish in Italy's top flight and his first home game in charge brought an extremely favourable result. It could not have been a better start for the new head coach, whose team led 2-0 inside 12 minutes courtesy of a quick-fire double from a player that has only scored one senior league goal for the club. Joaquin and Valero's quality were key features of the first period, but the home side did have to rely on some excellent goalkeeping from Ciprian Tatarusanu to keep their lead intact. In fact, after scoring, it took until just before the hour for Fiorentina to have another meaningful chance and it was substitute Giuseppe Rossi that fired wide after excellent work from Josip Ilicic.
If Fiorentina's first-half performance was all about attacking, then their second brought some excellent defending. Each member of their starting back four impressed for long spells, with Gonzalo Rodriguez making a couple of sensational blocks to keep the score at 2-1. Tatarusanu was also in super form between the sticks and there is no question that his performance was a key part of Fiorentina's win. New signing Mario Suarez entered proceedings at the interval and looked very handy, which was another big positive for the hosts. On another day, the Italian side would have drawn or suffered a narrow defeat to Barcelona, but the manner of their defending meant that they deserved something for their troubles. Without question, there were more positives than negatives for Sousa in Florence.
Barcelona's performance
Barcelona entered the match having lost their last two pre-season matches, although their last defeat did occur on penalties after a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the United States. Fitness and preparation are the name of the game during friendly matches, but Luis Enrique would have been mindful of suffering another defeat here. Well, they had it all to do after a poor first 12 minutes, with poor defending contributing to Fiorentina's two goals. The response was very strong, however, with Suarez netting just five minutes after Fiorentina's second. Barca should have been level just two minutes later when Pedro found space inside the box, but his effort was wide of the post, before the Manchester United transfer target was denied by another excellent save from the Fiorentina goalkeeper.
Jordi Alba and Pedro then both had excellent chances in the 26th and 27th minute respectively, but the former headed over from close range, before the latter again lost his battle with the home side's Romanian stopper. Suarez was guilty of missing Barca's best chance of the first half, however, with the striker somehow slicing wide after being played through by Pedro. It took until the 63rd minute for the visitors to have another golden opportunity to score, but Suarez was denied by another wonderful save, before Rodriguez blocked Pedro's goal-bound effort. It is important to remember that this is a squad still without the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano, but Enrique would still have been confident of avoiding defeat here. It isn't as if Barca were out-classed and out-played in Florence, but there is no question that the team as a whole are still some way off being ready for the new campaign.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Ciprian Tatarusanu: Bernardeschi will get the headlines for Fiorentina and rightly so following his two-goal performance against the European champions. However, Fiorentina simply would not have won this match but for their goalkeeper. The Romanian made a host of excellent saves in Florence - keeping seven of Barca's eight attempts on target out of the net.
Biggest gaffe
Suarez had a golden chance to level the scores late in the first period after being played through by Pedro, but the striker somehow sliced completely wide under little pressure. The Uruguay international has been Barcelona's best player in pre-season and was a constant threat during his time on the field in this game, but he got this particular effort very wrong indeed.
Referee performance
Massimiliano Irrati can be pleased with his 90 minutes of action. The Italian did not issue a single yellow card in Florence, but that is not to say that there were not a number of tasty challenges. The official was always prepared to let the game flow when possible.
What next?
Fiorentina: Fiorentina will travel to London to face Chelsea in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday.
Barcelona: Next up for Barca is the European Super Cup against Sevilla on August 11.
Matt Law
