Crystal Palace can advance into the semi-final of the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night, so long as Oliver Glasner avoids a complete capitulation in Florence.
Fiorentina must make up a 3-0 deficit to have any chance of overcoming their defeat at Selhurst Park last week, a tough task, but not an impossible one for the Serie A side.
Fiorentina No.8 Rolando Mandragora certainly has belief that a comeback is doable, as the Italian sent a warning to Crystal Palace and Glasner when speaking in the press conference before the game.
Rolando Mandragora says Fiorentina “can do something special” against Crystal Palace
The Italy international is quoted by Tutto Mercato Web as saying: “We’ve managed to keep ourselves alive and are still in the running. It will take a big feat but we believe in the miracle.
“We’ve often suffered comebacks in the second leg in the past few years. Now could be the right time to do it ourselves. Of course, we’ll need the perfect game and that Palace will concede against us. It will be difficult, but we believe in it.
“We can do something special with the support of our fans. We didn’t want to disappoint them with a result like that in the first leg. But for most of the game, the performance was there, there were chances. We’ll try to play our game at home, even if they are strong and complete.
“I honestly don’t (notice a difference in quality). Of course, the Premier League is elite, as is Serie A with its pros and cons. Every game has its own story and the first leg told us that they were better than us. We’ll see if we’re better than them in the second.”
Fiorentina players pose for a team photo
Photo by Andrea Martini/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fiorentina would need to score four goals against the Eagles, who have lost Eddie Nketiah for the rest of the season, without reply to progress into the semi-final.
So far this season, the Italian side have only scored four goals twice in 46 games, beating Udinese 5-1 in December before a 4-1 win over Cremonese in March.
With all due respect, neither Udinese nor Cremonese possess the quality of Crystal Palace – who could hire Andoni Iraola – so it would be a real shock if Fiorentina are able to carry out Mandragora’s belief and turn this tie around.