Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano is at a loss to explain his shot-shy side’s lack of goals after going down 1-0 to Atalanta.
La Viola face Hearts in Europa Conference League action on Thursday in the first part of a key Group A double header. The Jambos currently sit in second place after a defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir and a win over RFS. The Italians were also defeated by the Turks after a shock 1-1 home draw against the Latvian champions on matchday one.
That result has opened up the possibility for Robbie Neilson ’s men to try and snatch second place and a spot in the knock-out rounds. They welcome the Florence-based outfit to the capital before heading to Italy seven days later, and the outcome of those two encounters could go a long way to determining which of the two progress, with RFS expected to bring up the rear and Basaksehir clear favourites to top the group.
Hearts suffered a heavy defeat to Rangers at Tynecastle ahead of another Euro night under the lights in Gorgie. But their opponents aren’t exactly free scoring, having managed just five goals in their last nine outings after just two wins under their current boss all season.
They drew another blank in Bergamo on Sunday evening. Former Everton man Ademola Lookman netted the only goal of the game for the hosts, although Italiano was pleased with what he saw from his side.
The head coach is adamant that all that was missing was a goal. However, he admits he and his staff have tried everything to get his team firing, and is hopeful they’ll have their shooting boots on in Edinburgh.
"We continue to have many conditions for scoring goals, unfortunately we need that quality that does not allow us to score,” he told DAZN. “We have to find that mental aspect to make us make the leap. There were all the forwards on the pitch in the last fifteen minutes trying to equalise, I'm confident because I've seen the different team.”
Asked what more could be done to rectify the situation between now and Thursday, he replied: "We tried in every way, it's a constant at the moment and doesn't allow us to get different results. I liked the spirit."
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