Braga this Thursday dreamed of a historic comeback at Artemio Franchi, but in the end they couldn’t even win at home to Fiorentina, who in the first leg of the Conference League playoffs left the tie on sight by winning 0-4. Although the Portuguese went 0-2, Fiorentina won again and are in the round of 16 (3-2).
André Castro in minute 16 and Álvaro Djalo in minute 34′ They gave Braga hope with the Portuguese’s good start to the game. But Fiorentina reacted and won with goals from Rolando Mandragora (37′), Riccardo Saponara (58′) and Arthur Cabral (83′).
Speaking of Cabral, he is the star of an unusual event: the referee, the French referee, Benoît Bastien, disallowed him in the 49′, by VAR, a goal where the goal technology indicated that the ball had crossed the line and was therefore valid.
Back at the start, Braga took the lead when Castro beat Fiorentina goalkeeper Sirigu with a right-footed cross. Djalo got the second one from the Portuguese team, beat Sirigu from the edge of the area.
But Fiorentina reacted. In minute 37, after a low cross from Bonaventura, Mandragora connected a shot with a right and Mendes deflected the ball. Violas cut distances. In the second half, after the annulment of Cabral’s goal, at 58′ Saponara equalized, assisted by Giacomo Bonaventura. And in the 83rd minute, after another assist from Bonaventura (he served all three goals), Cabral, quickly, put the score at 3-2. Braga managed to equalize with Rodrigo Gomes, but Sirigu stopped it.
The other classifieds
Lazio continue and are in the round of 16 after a 0-0 home win against Cluj (who they beat 1-0 in the first leg). Anderlecht qualified after winning on penalties in Ludogorets Razgrad (3-0 after 2-1). Also due to maximum penalties, Ghent continues to lead (5-3 against Qarabag after a 1-0 draw). FC Sheriff managed to eliminate Partizan Belgrade 3-1, while Dnipro-1 was left behind after a 0-0 loss to AEK Larnaca.
Basel and Lech Poznan will not miss the appointment of the eighth of the Conference League after defeating Trabzonspor (2-0) and Bodo / Glimt (1-0) respectively.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
