Fiorentina 1-0 Roma: Match report, reaction and key statistics

Roma’s 20-game undefeated streak in Serie A came to an end on Sunday night, as Fiorentina claimed a 1-0 win at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

It was a tale of two posts for Luciano Spalletti’s side, as Milan Badelj fired home via the woodwork - just seconds after Radja Nainggolan had seen his effort bounce clear in similar fashion - to secure the win for the hosts.

Badelj found the bottom corner from 20 yards in the 82nd minute to win it for his side, who had created few clear-cut chances of note over the 90 minutes. It was a bitter blow for the visitors to take, having seen Nainggolan hit the post and substitute Stephan El Shaarawy denied at the death.

There was further controversy to the goal – replies suggested that Nikola Kalinic had been in an offside position as he jumped out of the way of Badelj’s shot on the way to goal – but referee Nicola Rizzoli saw no issue.

It was a reminder of the occasional cruel nature of the sport for the Giallorossi, who seemed to grow in confidence and control the longer the game went on. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was not a spectator throughout – he made one particularly fine save from Davide Astori, and was also on hand to deny Kalinic on another occasion – but the longer the game went on the more threatening Roma looked, only to suffer the decisive blow.

Edin Dzeko, restored to the starting lineup, was a constant threat in the first half – although he was agonisingly unable to steer a header on target after Alessandro Florenzi’s brilliant cross had picked him out.

The full-back was then responsible for another fine ball into the box, but again Dzeko saw his shot go over the crossbar as defenders watched on.

The second half continued in similar fashion, with Roma pushing forward but struggling for clear openings. One fell to Nainggolan inside the box – only for the Belgian to see his powerful drive hit the post and bounce clear.

Seconds later Badelj saw the ball hit the back of the net. Roma pushed forward but even the addition of Francesco Totti could not turn the tide – as both he and fellow sub El Shaarawy were frustrated with late efforts.

Team selection

Perhaps the most notable part of Luciano Spalletti's team selection saw Edin Dzeko restored to the starting lineup - the striker leading the line after making an impact off the bench in the last two Serie A games (against Cagliari and Sampdoria).

Elsewhere it was Federico Fazio who was given the nod in central defence alongside Kostas Manolas, while Daniele De Rossi and Kevin Strootman bossed the central midfield with Radja Nainggolan.

Alessandro Florenzi, right-back once again, retained the captaincy.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

15’ – Close! Dzeko heads narrowly wide from Florenzi’s brilliant inswinging cross.

18’ – Goalkeeper Tatarusanu parries away Dzeko’s well-hit volley, after the corner is cleared into his path.

30’ – Penalty appeal! Dzeko goes down in the box after pressure from Gonzalo, but the ref waves away the protests!

37’ – Chance! Another great ball from Florenzi finds Dzeko, but the striker fires over the crossbar from inside the box!

44’ – Salah flashes over from the edge of the box..

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See more images in our match gallery.

SECOND HALF

48’ – What a stop! Szczesny makes a brilliant save to deny Astori, flinging himself to his left to reach the powerful shot!

63’ – Perotti volleys straight at the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.

66’ – Kalinic heads straight at Szczesny from five yards out!

80’ – SO CLOSE! Florenzi finds Nainggolan, who smashes his shot against the inside of the post and out!

82’ – Goal. Badelj gets the ball on the edge of the box, and his first-time shot hits the inside of the post and sneaks in. 1-0 Fiorentina.

87’ – Dzeko heads over from a corner.

90’+2 – El Shaarawy sneaks past his defender … but the keeper makes a crucial save and Dzeko’s follow-up is blocked!

90’+4 – The ball falls to Totti 20 yards out – but his strike is narrowly wide.

Key match statistics

See more match statistics in our match centre.

Roma reaction

“This defeat hurts because we deserved more than we got. Things didn’t go our way today.“We have to accept the result but be satisfied with our performance. My players did their duty today.”

- Luciano Spalletti

“We lost the ball far too much, messing up easy passes. We worked really hard last week to improve in that area. We did well in the first half, but we weren’t the same after the break.

- Kevin Strootman

What's next?

There is little time for the Giallorossi to sit and reflect on this result - they are back in Serie A action on Wednesday, as Crotone come to the Stadio Olimpico.

After that game Spalletti's group are on there travels once again, as they head to Turin for another away game against Torino.

FIORENTINA 1-0 ROMA

Goalscorers: Badelj (82')

Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Tomovic, Gonzalo, Astori; Sanchez, Badelj; Tello (Bernardeschi), Milic, Ilicic (Babacar), Borja Valero; Kalinic (Cristoforo).

Roma: Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Peres; Strootman, De Rossi; Salah (El Shaarawy), Perotti (Totti), Nainggolan (Iturbe); Dzeko.