Another game another free kick another goal from none other than the man himself Pirlo, this time on the top left hand side off the keeper and again well out of reach, now that’s two games to Pirlo wins wow.

I did not see the game as I was working but have found an article about the game, but who ever saw the game are very welcome to add their piece.

Motivation is a tricky mistress. Big matches require a determined side willing to leave blood on the pitch, but excite the players too much and you risk sending them over the edge. With the Viola down to 10 men, Andrea Pirlo broke Florentine hearts with a masterful free-kick to snatch Juventus a quarter-final piece in the Europa League with a 1-0 victory.
Fiorentina started the game with hunger in their bellies. Attacking with pace and pressing vehemently. They possessed the ball beautifully and proved effective with both their passing and fluid interchange. The Bianconeri struggled to settle in. Every pass they attempted was well intercepted while their best players, including Pirlo and Paul Pogba were man-marked impeccably well. For a side that has routinely been criticised for their weak defence, Fiorentina ensured that in this match they would play with more aggression, surrounding their opponent to win back the ball and operating a quick manoeuvre before Juventus even had a moment to settle.
However, the most impressive aspect of the Viola was the manner in which they disturbed Juve’s game. Juventus manager Antonio Conte’s side likes to adopt a high line and pass the ball around at the back before either going forward via short passes through midfield or a Leonardo Bonucci long ball to the top. However, with the likes of Josip Ilicic and Mario Gomez pressing, this pushed Juve deeper, stretching them out while their forced passes backwards allowed the Viola to then take a step up and push forward.
Essentially, the home side didn’t need to score but they had to make absolutely certain they didn’t concede a goal either. Thus they concentrated on frustrating their opponent, closing down their usual avenues to goal and pushing them back to create distances between the players. If the Bianconeri did manage to move forward, then there were at least five players pressing, moving and marking to ensure possession was won back. When it was, they pushed forward and happily took shots from distance, even if they didn’t manage to get anything on target in the first half.
Juventus disappointed. Mauricio Isla, despite some good crosses, struggled to penetrate; Arturo Vidal, under extreme pressure, succumbed to imprecise play while Fernando Llorente struggled to offer much up top. In the Spaniard’s defence, he often found himself alone and surrounded by four or five purple shirts, but more was still expected.
Overwhelmed and unable to establish a rhythm, even when Juventus did manage to regain control of the ball, they surrendered it cheaply. This can be excused if squad players were deployed, but Juve’s first team ought to be doing better. One has to wonder why Europe strips them of the usual beauty but each match allows both Conte and his men to develop further.
Yet despite their less than dazzling performance, the Old Lady still has the players to make the difference. They may have rarely had the opportunity to create attacking passages of play in the first half, but they excelled when allowed to counter-attack while Pirlo worked tirelessly to find some space and escape his markers. Going into the break, the Bianconeri had produced more shots on target than their opponents. The second half saw the Bianconeri play with greater intensity, seemingly more eager to make an impact. Unfortunately for Fiorentina, their desperate desire to defeat their opponent led to mistakes and Gonzalo Rodriguez fouled Llorente to earn a red card and concede a free-kick to Juve in a dangerous area.

A timeless player boasting impeccable technique, Pirlo struck the ball into the far top-corner of the goal to earn his side a victory. Not only did he secure Juve’s win and possibly the Seria A title on Sunday against Genoa, he’s now ensured his side progress to the next stage of the Europa League.
Montella’s squad is still a side that despite their beauty, need to mature. Passion is difficult to contain and with Rodriguez’s silly foul and goalkeeper Norberto Neto’s screaming rant, the Tuscans struggled to cope with the pressure and maintain their composure. The goalkeeper was trodden on the head by Juve striker Carlos Tevez, but rather than earn himself a yellow card by angrily yelling at the referee, he ought to have intelligently made his case. Playing with only ten men and one goal down, heads soon dropped. Montella opted to take Ilicic off to bring on a defender — a decision one struggles to understand considering how much his side needed a goal to stay in the race. Why not go all out in search of the equaliser? With little attacking impetus, Juventus controlled proceedings and secured the win to qualify for the next stage. While it’s never nice to see a good side like Fiorentina knocked out of a European competition, over the two matches Juventus deserved the win and are undoubtedly Italy’s best hope of winning the trophy.

Next Game this weekend Juventus travel to Sicily to face Catania who are propping up the league who have won one in five beat Lazio 3-1 so it wont be easy.