Fiorentina find way after 'letting loose'

Marco Donadel believes the injection of confidence from an overwhelming win against Debreceni VSC can help ACF Fiorentina into the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

Goal rush
The Viola followed their 4-3 win against the Hungarian champions two weeks ago with another seven-goal spectacle, this time overcoming András Herczeg's side 5-2, although there was little indication of an impending goal rush when the teams went in for half-time having found the net once apiece. The hosts were left kicking themselves when Gergely Rudolf cancelled out Adrian Mutu's 15th-minute strike but emerged for the second period in determined mood and produced an emphatic showing as Dario Dainelli, Riccardo Montolivo, Marco Marchionni and Alberto Gilardino finished off Debrecen, for whom Adamo Coulibaly mustered a consolation strike.

Controlled approach
"We wanted to start on the front foot and score straight away," Donadel told uefa.com. "We wanted to show them that we were intent on dominating the match and for the first 20 or 25 minutes that worked well. But then we saw that they were letting us keep possession so we began to play a more controlled game to protect our lead and it backfired because it's not really our style to play with the handbrake on.

'Let loose'
"So after the break we let loose again," added the 26-year old, who has featured in all six of Fiorentina's European matches this season. "In fact the match in Budapest was similar. It was a great spectacle, an open match with lots of chances, counterattack upon counterattack. It's very tiring to play that way but it rewarded us with lots of goals – and that happened again here."

'Match of our lives'
A memorable victory could have been all the sweeter had Olympique Lyonnais beaten Liverpool FC for a second time, although the 1-1 draw keeps Claude Puel's side a point clear of Fiorentina and leaves the Reds five points adrift with two matches left. "It's a shame we're not through yet but that's the nature of the competition sometimes, especially when there are three strong sides in the section and one which is still without a point," Donadel added. "We'll just have to gear up for the match of our lives against Lyon in the full knowledge that our destiny is still in our hands. We just need to keep playing the way we have done so far because if we stop now it would be a huge shame. We've played Lyon three times now and not once have we deserved to lose – it's time fortune favoured us for once."