AC Florence further widened the gap to the bottom on Monday. The hero of the evening in the 1:0 win against Lazio Roma was Robin Gosens, who was showered with praise by the Italian press.
“Gosens, mamma mia!” The Corriere dello Sport had this typical line of praise for Robin Gosens and at the same time ventured a glimpse into the future: “His goal gives Florence the win and probably also relegation.”.
In fact, the 1:0 winner, which the 31-year-old scored with a precisely timed header with the help of the inside of the post after just under half an hour (28′), was a very important milestone – after all, Fiorentina increased their lead over the first relegation spot and Lecce, who are level on points with Cremonese after their defeats, to eight points with their third win in their unbeaten run of five games.
The Gazzetta dello Sport also made a strong statement about the man of the evening: “Gosens’ personality and charisma dragged AC Florence to success,” said the newspaper, which felt that the 24-time German international had scored the “most important goal of the season” for Florence.
Defeated Gosens bites through
Gosens received a huge round of applause from the fans when he was substituted in the 80th minute. The left-back was also completely satisfied after the game: “We knew that this was a great opportunity and didn’t want to let it go to waste. We deserved the win. It gives us confidence for the next few games,” he told DAZN after scoring his third goal of the season. Gosens admitted to physical problems, saying that tendonitis had caused him difficulties for a long time. But he gritted his teeth. “I really wanted to stay on the pitch,” he emphasized and hugged Paolo Vanoli.
The coach, who has been at the Viola since the beginning of November, is likely to be just as relieved as his own supporters at the prospect of relegation. As recently as mid-December, Fiorentina were bottom of the table with just six points and now have 35 points to their name. With six games left to play, the long looming threat of relegation is no longer an issue.