Football Italia Live Blog
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21:08 Milan subs
Chukwueze and Reijnders on, Loftus-Cheek and Calabria off. Interesting.
21:06 2nd half kicks off: Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool
3-1 agg
21:05 Refereeing controversy
Referee Szymon Marciniak has taken centre stage during the first half of the Europa League quarter-final between Roma and Milan with some controversial decisions https://t.co/3wayzOBx4s #ASRoma #ACMilan #RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
20:57 The red card
ROMA DOWN TO 10! 😱
Mehmet Zeki Çelik is given a straight red for this foul on Leão 🔴#UEL pic.twitter.com/aQKDBHCbIp
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 18, 2024
20:53 Half-Time: Roma 2-0 Milan
Long period of Milan possession coming to nothing. Roma 3-0 up on aggregate, but down to 10 men. Lukaku and Dybala already substituted.
20:49 Musah charged down
A good Musah run, shot charged down by his own teammate.
20:48 Half-Time: Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool
Atalanta 3-1 Liverpool on aggregate.
20:47 Pulisic over
Pulisic turns well and fires over the bar from the edge of the area.
20:46 Paredes rude
Paredes barges Calabria over in an off the field incident. No need for that.
20:45 Hien booked
Hien booked for handling a long ball over the top. Liverpool wanted a penalty, but he didn’t seem massively aware of where the ball was.
20:44 Subs
Jovic replaces Bennacer. Diego Llorente on for Dybala.
20:42 Atalanta goal disallowed
Koopmeiners has the ball in the net, but the offside flag is up.
20:41 VAR!
No penalty, because as we said, Giroud first. Don’t know why he had to go look at that, to be honest…
20:40 Milan protests
Milan want a penalty after some General Chaos on a corner, it was ricocheting all over the place, hit the arms of both Giroud and Mancini. In that order.
20:39 Salah all wrong!
Ball over the top from Gakpo, Salah springs the offside trap, but gets the lob horribly wrong!
20:36 Loftus-Cheek header
Milan cross from the left, RLC diving header charged down by… someone, it was a crowd of bodies in there. Looked like Mancini’s back.
20:35 Djimsiti decisive
Djimsiti with the diving tackle to stop Salah going clear from a Gakpo assist.
20:34 Hail!
As if Roma-Milan didn’t need more, it’s now hailing!
20:31 Zeki Celik sent off!
That’s going to cause all sorts of controversy. Zeki Celik dives into the sliding tackle on Rafael Leao, does not do it at all well, it’s definitely a yellow, but a straight red? It caught the trailing foot pretty badly.
20:29 Roma sub
Lukaku off, Abraham on.
20:29 Miranchuk again
Liverpool give it away cheaply again, Miranchuk angled drive across the face of goal.
20:28 Atalanta counter
Miranchuk made a mess of that, over-hit the cross.
20:26 Lukaku is hurt
Tammy Abraham warming up. Lukaku has a problem.
20:26 Match report
#Fiorentina 2-0 #ViktoriaPlzen (2-0 agg)
Fiorentina needed extra time to finally break down 10-man Viktoria Plzen with Nico Gonzalez and Cristiano Biraghi goals to reach the Conference League semi-final https://t.co/u9sA0bPIFn #FiorentinaViktoriaPlzen #ACFPLZ #UECL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
20:23 Roma 2-0 Milan: Paulo Dybala!
What a goal! Lukaku battles to win the ball, spring the offside trap, hold off defenders, Gabbia clears, but only as far as Dybala to curl into the far bottom corner!
20:22 FT: Fiorentina 2-0 Viktoria Plzen
Fiorentina are in the semi-final!
20:20 Milan hit the woodwork!
Musah rolls across for Loftus-Cheek, ball bobbles a little on the wet turf, RLC effort bounces onto the crossbar!
20:20 Atalanta chance
Liverpool continue to make just random passes out from the back, Miranchuk fails to take advantage.
20:18 Milan corner
Milan set play a bit chaotic, foul on Smalling while Bove is wrapped around Tomori, Svilar got it under control too.
20:14 Liverpool chances
Musso rushes off his line to deny Luis Diaz one-on-one, then Szoboszlai scorcher well held. Alisson makes a great reaction save to prevent an own goal, but Scamacca was offside in the build-up.
20:12 Roma 1-0 Milan: Gianluca Mancini!
Dybala trademark curler from outside the box bounced off the far post, but Mancini was ready to turn in the rebound! Special dedication for Mattia Giani, who died on Sunday.
20:12 Milan tactics
De Rossi was correct, Musah is wide right.
20:09 Fiorentina 2-0 Viktoria Plzen: Cristiano Biraghi!
It was a Plzen throw-in to the box, but it was cleared, Ikone sprinted the whole way and rolled it across for Biraghi to beat the goalkeeper one-on-one!
20:07 Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah penalty!
Sent Musso the wrong way, it’s now 3-1 on aggregate.
20:05 Penalty for Liverpool!
Ruggeri charged down a cross with his raised arm just inside the area!
20:05 HT in ET: Fiorentina 1-0 Viktoria Plzen
Sottil with another low cross that was not finished off.
20:04 Van Dijk hurt
Seemed to accidentally hurt his finger during a collision, but is OK to continue after treatment.
20:01 Fiorentina off the post!
Incredible. Corner, Martinez Quarta header, bounces off the upright!
20:01 We have kick-off!
20:00 Wasted counter
Sottil sprints on the counter, then Kouame cross blocked for a corner.
19:59 Roma anthem plays
Always a special moment.
19:57 Out come the teams!
Yep, we’re going to have 3 quarter-finals running simultaneously.
19:55 Fiorentina sub
Nico Gonzalez off, Sottil on
19:54 Faraoni easy
Faraoni curler from outside the box is straight at the goalkeeper.
19:50 Seriously?
Nico Gonzalez booked for over-celebrating. Do you have any idea how long he’s been waiting for that goal?! He should’ve celebrated MORE.
19:49 Fiorentina 1-0 Viktoria Plzen: Nico Gonzalez!
On the resulting corner, Nico Gonzalez gathers with his back to goal, turns and smashes it into the far top corner off the outside of the right boot from 12 yards!
19:48 Save on Martinez Quarta!
Ferocious strike from distance stings the goalkeeper’s gloves.
19:47 Fiorentina sub
Mandragora off, Martinez Quarta on. We start extra time.
19:46 Stefano Pioli
Stefano Pioli explains why he made some surprise changes to the Milan XI in the Europa League quarter-final with Roma. ‘We are trying to be unpredictable.’ https://t.co/visBhkbHR2 #ACMilan #ASRoma #RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
19:43 FT: Fiorentina 0-0 Viktoria Plzen
It goes to extra time. Let’s be honest, we knew that was going to happen.
19:41 Offside
Kouame rolls it beyond Ikone, but was offside anyway. Also corner came to nothing.
19:38 Into stoppages
6 minutes in Florence.
19:37 De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi thanks Roma for the ‘gigantic show of faith’ as his contract was extended before the Europa League quarter-final with Milan. ‘It means we do not depend on this match' https://t.co/KmYkMB2Qpb #ASRoma #ACMilan #RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
19:36 Urgh
Nico Gonzalez bursts down the left and gets the cross all wrong for Ikone…
19:34 Fiorentina sub
Ikone and Faraoni on, Belotti and Dodo off.
19:32 Barak chance
Nico Gonzalez floats a ball over the top, but Barak can’t quite get hold of it.
19:31 Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
"We are here to give it a proper try." 🏃♂️
Can Jurgen Klopp & Liverpool pull off a minor miracle, coming back from 3-0 down to Atalanta, in their #UEL quarterfinal second-leg? 🔴 pic.twitter.com/AqOtFEt13O
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 18, 2024
19:30 Usual Fiorentina
Chances and half-chances, but no goals.
19:26 Warming up
Roma and Milan are on the pitch.
19:21 Atalanta warm-up
BatJuan IN ✅👊@musso_juan | #AtalantaLiverpool #UEL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/O9pmI1GQWO
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) April 18, 2024
19:21 Fiorentina sub
Beltran off, Barak on. Beltran just forced a save, but Nico Gonzalez hadn’t kept the assist in play anyway.
19:19 Mandragora effort
Mandragora drills wide, it was so bad that it almost turned into an accidental assist for Belotti.
19:17 Plzen sub
Reznik replaces Chory
19:17 Isak Hien (Atalanta)
“It is an important match for us, we know it will be tough against this opponent, but we believe in our qualities. For us, it is the same as the first leg. We know they have a lot of quality, but we played well and got a good result in England, so today we want to do the same thing. We are not playing to sit on that first leg result, we want to win again today.”
19:14 Into the wall
Mandragora free kick into the wall. Corner cleared.
19:12 VAR – RED CARD!
VAR on-field review for that, as Cadu stood on the back of Dodo’s ankle. Red card!
19:12 Fiorentina sub
Maxime Lopez replaces Arthur.
19:11 Dangerous free kick
Well-worked passing move, Dodo brought down on the edge of the area, Cadu booked.
19:09 Edoardo Bove (Roma)
“It is a very important night for us and always a pleasure to play games of this level in Europe. There is an atmosphere that is truly exhilarating. We will give everything to bring joy to us and all the fans.
“The level of players we have in the squad is very high, so it’s natural there is going to be limited rotation when you have champions of Europe and the world. I try to make sure I am ready, this is an opportunity for me and I’ll give my all, as always.”
19:06 Milan fans
4,500 at least are present at the Stadio Olimpico.
19:02 Plzen sub
Vydra off, Kliment on.
19:01 Mandragora close!
What a goal that would’ve been. Controlled just inside the area with his back to goal, juggled with the ball like in training, set it up for an overhead kick, just over the bar!
18:59 Oof
Chory, who is huge, leaps over the also rather massive Milenkovic and lands horribly on his shoulder.
18:58 Roma are here
Stadio Olimpico. 📌 #ASRoma | #UEL pic.twitter.com/YPZ2q50KBn
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 18, 2024
18:57 Liverpool arrive
The Reds have arrived 👋 #UEL pic.twitter.com/c7SFPGmO4T
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 18, 2024
18:57 POLL
POLL: Who scores first in #Atalanta vs. #LiverpoolFC ?
Liveblog https://t.co/8UVSs77oKc#AtalantaLiverpool #ATALIV #LFC #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:55 POLL
POLL: Who scores first in #ASRoma vs. #ACMilan ?
Liveblog https://t.co/8UVSs77oKc#RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:54 Team News
#ASRoma vs. #ACMilan line-ups:
Roma bring in Edoardo Bove with Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku for the Europa League quarter-final, as Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud try to turn it around https://t.co/2NczwbB5u4 #RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:52 Roma vs. Milan line-ups
Roma: Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Smalling, Spinazzola; Bove, Paredes, Pellegrini; El Shaarawy, Lukaku, Dybala
Milan: Maignan; Calabria, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Musah; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud
Ref: Marciniak (POL)
18:51 2nd half kicks off: Fiorentina 0-0 Viktoria Plzen
18:50 Team news
#Atalanta vs. #Liverpool line-ups:
Atalanta know even a 3-0 first leg lead isn’t enough to be safe against Liverpool in the Europa League quarter-final, as Gianluca Scamacca faces an all-attack Liverpool https://t.co/1PwvlpGvKi #AtalantaLiverpool #LFC #ATALIV #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:48 Atalanta vs. Liverpool line-ups
Atalanta: Musso; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Scamacca, Miranchuk
Atalanta bench: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Toloi, Holm, Pasalic, Toure, Lookman, De Ketelaere, Bakker, Adopo, Hateboer, Bonfanti
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Luis Diaz
Liverpool bench: Adrian, Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Nunez, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Clark, Danns, Quansah
Ref: Letexier (FRA)
18:45 Liverpool XI
How we line up to take on Atalanta 📋🔴 #UEL
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 18, 2024
18:44 Bergamo calling
DZ77 c’è 👊@DZappacosta in the building 📍#AtalantaLiverpool #UEL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/RhJSzv21BL
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) April 18, 2024
18:42 POLL
POLL: Who wins #Atalanta vs. #LiverpoolFC ?
Liveblog https://t.co/8UVSs77oKc#AtalantaLiverpool #ATALIV #LFC #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:41 POLL
POLL: Who wins #ASRoma vs. #ACMilan ?
Liveblog https://t.co/8UVSs77oKc#RomaMilan #ASRACM #UEL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
18:35 Half-Time: Fiorentina 0-0 Viktoria Plzen
Definitely cursed.
18:33 Aaaaaaaaaargh
Such a great move, nutmeg on Chory, back-heel flick, roll across from the left for Nico Gonzalez, finish deflected wide!
18:31 Kouame off the crossbar!
OK, they are definitely cursed. Kouame controls, lets it bounce, thumps the left-foot strike and it bounces off the underside of the crossbar! Then probable foul on Nico Gonzalez, but outside the box.
18:30 Milan arrive
👉Ci siamo! L'arrivo del #Milan allo stadio Olimpico di #Roma (via @AntoVitiello e @antonello_gioia) pic.twitter.com/z9kRf7T7GQ
— MilanNews.it (@MilanNewsit) April 18, 2024
18:29 Risky
Jemelka with a sliding tackle on Beltran inside the penalty area. Let’s just call that dumb defending, but he did get the ball.
18:28 Dodo cross
Nico Gonzalez cross-field pass, Dodo floats in the cross, but Kouame and Belotti both go for it and rather get in their way.
18:26 Coming up
Changing room ready. 🟡🔴#ASRoma | #UEL pic.twitter.com/n5XfbYjbLL
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 18, 2024
18:22 Ranieri booked
Bit of pushing and shoving at the byline, Ranieri and Chory are both booked.
18:20 That save
Martin Jedička with a sublime piece of goalkeeping once again 😮💨
He is determined to shut Fiorentina out!#UECL
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Aqj92mBcZA
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 18, 2024
18:20 Argh
Biraghi dribbles through the middle, heavy touch and defence manages to clear.
18:18 Cursed
Vincenzo Italiano said he feared Fiorentina were cursed with their inability to score goals. He might have a point.
18:17 Belotti off the upright!
The move continued, Belotti header thumps the far post!
18:16 Ridiculous Save!
How on earth did he keep that out?! Lovely team move down the right, roll across for Kouame, incredible save!
18:14 Beltran is trying
He had treatment, is trying to come back on.
18:13 Beltran big problem
He has gone down to ground with head in hands. That’s not reassuring.
18:11 Beltran problem
Beltran landed a bit awkwardly on his ankle, he’s limping.
18:09 Nico Gonzalez effort
A lovely left-foot curler towards the far top corner, but the goalkeeper saw that coming and plucked it out of the air.
18:07 Fiorentina corner cleared
There’s pressure, but they need to speed things up a bit.
18:04 Save on Beltran
Dribbled forward after combining with Belotti, but scuffed the finish straight at the goalkeeper.
18:01 That Belotti chance
Andrea Belotti misses a golden opportunity to give Fiorentina an early lead in this quarter-final thanks to a wonderful save from Martin Jedička in the Viktoria Plzen goal 😧#UECL
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/RjlihhkgRl
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 18, 2024
18:00 Coming up
⚫️🔵🆚🔴🔴#AtalantaLiverpool #UEL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/39EwbUyRs0
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) April 18, 2024
17:58 Fiorentina keeping possession
They also had a free kick followed by a corner. Plzen love to defend.
17:54 Kouame chance
Offside flag went up eventually, but it was very tight, goalkeeper rushed out to make the block. Kouame is very fired up today.
17:52 Huge double Fiorentina chance!
Ooooh! First Belotti sliding in to the Kouame cross from the left, huge save from the goalkeeper’s legs from six yards, then the move continues and Kouame header cleared almost off the line!
17:50 Plzen threaten
Free kick whipped across the face of goal, Hranac sliding in just fails to connect at the back post!
17:49 Plzen corner
Aggressive start from the visitors, who win a corner, but not much comes from it.
17:46 We have kick-off in Fiorentina vs. Viktoria Plzen!
Fiorentina: Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Mandragora, Arthur; Nico Gonzalez, Beltran, Kouame; Belotti
Viktoria Plzen: Jedlicka; Hranac,Hejda, Jemelka; Kopic, Kalvach, Cerv, Cadu; Sulc; Vydra, Chory
Ref: Manzano (ESP)
17:45 A minute’s silence
As it is the first UEFA home game since his death, there is a minute’s silence for Fiorentina director Joe Barone. Members of his family are present.
17:41 Out come the teams
Here we go!
17:35 Fiorentina vs. Viktoria Plzen
Fiorentina: Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Mandragora, Arthur; Nico Gonzalez, Beltran, Kouame; Belotti
Fiorentina bench: Christensen, Sottil, Maxime Lopez, Ikone, Infantino, Faraoni, Martinez Quarta, Duncan, Kayode, Comuzzo, Parisi, Barak
Viktoria Plzen: Jedlicka; Hranac,Hejda, Jemelka; Kopic, Kalvach, Cerv, Cadu; Sulc; Vydra, Chory
Plzen bench: Tvrdon, Baier, Paluska, Kliment, Traore, Reznik, Mosquera, Dweh
Ref: Manzano (ESP)
17:31 Tough opponents
#UECL qualifying stages for Viktoria Plzen:
👕 6 games, 6 wins
⚽️ 13 goals scored
🔒 2 conceded#UECL Group Stage for Viktoria Plzen:👕 6 games, 6 wins
⚽️ 9 goals scored
🔒 1 conceded#UECL KO stage for Viktoria Plzen:👕 3 games, 3 draws
⚽️ 0 goals scored
🔒 0 goals… pic.twitter.com/kEs2ZKr9Vs— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 18, 2024
17:13 Vincenzo Italiano speaks
Vincenzo Italiano explains his choices for the Conference League quarter-final against Viktoria Plzen, as Fiorentina need to be ‘more enterprising in the final third.’ https://t.co/2kF9ySxROc #Fiorentina #FiorentinaViktoriaPlzen #ACFPLZ #UECL
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
16:59 Nzola absent
M’Bala Nzola recovered from injury, but is absent due to family reasons.
16:47 Bonaventura out
Jack Bonaventura out with an ankle injury, not even on the bench.
16:38 Coming up
Setting the scene in Bergamo ahead of tonight's #UEL action ✨ pic.twitter.com/E3IpjgbaOx
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 18, 2024
16:37 Florence
Ci siamo. 🏟 #ForzaViola #FiorentinaPlzen #ACFFiorentina #UECL pic.twitter.com/t0dRTLNta3
— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) April 18, 2024
16:36 Team News
#Fiorentina vs. #ViktoriaPlzen line-ups:
Fiorentina need Nico Gonzalez and Andrea Belotti to end their goal droughts in the Conference League quarter-final with unbeaten Viktoria Plzen https://t.co/bC31Jv3eHq #FiorentinaViktoriaPlzen #UECL #AFCPLZ
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 18, 2024
16:34 Fiorentina vs. Viktoria Plzen line-ups
Fiorentina: Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Mandragora, Arthur; Nico Gonzalez, Beltran, Kouame; Belotti
Fiorentina bench: Christensen, Sottil, Maxime Lopez, Ikone, Infantino, Faraoni, Martinez Quarta, Duncan, Kayode, Comuzzo, Parisi, Barak
Viktoria Plzen: Jedlicka; Hranac,Hejda, Jemelka; Kopic, Kalvach, Cerv, Cadu; Sulc; Vydra, Chory
Plzen bench: Tvrdon, Baier, Paluska, Kliment, Traore, Reznik, Mosquera, Dweh
Ref: Manzano (ESP)
The build-up and action as it happens from the quarter-finals, as Fiorentina host Viktoria Plzen for the Conference League, while in the Europa League Roma defend a 1-0 lead over Milan and Atalanta eye another Liverpool shock.
We begin at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT) at the Stadio Franchi, where it’s all to play for in the Conference League after Fiorentina’s goalless draw in Plzen.
The Europa League takes centre-stage at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT) with Roma leading 1-0 from the first leg away to Milan, while Atalanta have a huge advantage following a 3-0 victory at Anfield.