Basel 1-3 Fiorentina (aet, agg: 3-4): Barák takes Viola to Europa Conference League final in Prague

Substitute Antonín Barák struck the winner in the final seconds of extra time to send Fiorentina to the UEFA Europa Conference League final in his native Czechia as Vincenzo Italiano's side turned the tables on Basel in Switzerland.

Match in brief: Viola break Basel's resistance

Nicolás González after heading Fiorentina in frontUEFA via Getty Images

Fiorentina had the better of the first half and took a deserved lead into the break after Nicolás González rose unmarked to head in Cristiano Biraghi's corner from close range.

Basel have made a habit of comebacks in this competition and levelled after the restart. Andy Pelmard's free-kick found Zeki Amdouni and he cut inside Igor to score again; he has struck in six of his last seven knockout ties in the competition.

Yet this time Fiorentina rallied and a second from González – a low finish with his left foot into the far corner – took the match into extra time, despite the Italian side's efforts to finish it inside 90 minutes.

Luka Jović came on for the additional 30 minutes and missed two good opportunities – but Barák succeeded where his team-mate could not right at the end with a low finish past Marwin Hitz.

Jürgen Baumgartner, Basel reporter

In the end, Basel could not quite do enough, even though they rallied after conceding the opening goal. Having made it through previous rounds in dramatic fashion, luck was not on their side tonight. Their dream of becoming the first Swiss side to reach a major European final is over.

Zeki Amdouni equalises for BaselUEFA via Getty Images

Paolo Menicucci, Fiorentina reporter

It was a well-deserved victory for the Viola, who passed up several chances during the game and were repeatedly denied by Basel goalkeeper Marwin Hitz. The top scorers in this competition, Fiorentina are through to their first European final in 33 years. Only West Ham stand between them and glory.

Reaction 

Antonín Barák, Fiorentina midfielder, taking to DAZN: "It is a great emotion, especially for me as the final is in Prague. It has been a great path, I’m speechless, I’m very excited. I was very calm after the first leg, despite the defeat. I was sure we were going to play a great game. There was a lot of pressure tonight but we deserved the victory. Now we must go all the way and take our chance to lift the trophy."

Vincenzo Italiano, Fiorentina coach, talking to DAZN: "It was an incredible game, an incredible joy. We played with great personality and quality. We fully deserved to reach the final. The lads were great, it was not easy to play here with this atmosphere. I always believed we could qualify because in the first leg we only paid at high price for 15 minutes of blackout."

Nicolás González, Fiorentina winger, talking to DAZN: "It was a beautiful night for me and for the team. We gave everything to reach this final: we never gave up, showing that we are strong and united. It will be a great game in Prague."

Fabian Frei, Basel midfielder: "It is such a cruel ending for us. I think we played great football over the whole competition and we deserved more, but that's football. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Today, luck wasn't on our side."

Wouter Burger, Basel midfielder: "You think you are headed for a shoot-out where it is a lottery, but then you lose in the last second... You can imagine. That is unbelievable. The pride will come later. Nobody expected much of us from the moment we reached the quarter-finals, but we managed to come super close [to the final]. For the moment, it is just super, super hard to swallow."

Key stats

• Fiorentina are the first team to make it to the final of the four big UEFA knockout competitions: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League and the defunct European Cup Winners' Cup.
• The Viola have reached their first final since they lost 3-1 to Juventus over two legs in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup; their only European trophy win to date was the 1960/61 European Cup Winners' Cup.
• The Viola's 3-1 victory on the night ended their run of nine UEFA semi-final fixtures without a win ; they are through for the first time in five UEFA semi-final ties having kept up their unbeaten run away to Swiss clubs (W4 D2).
• Zeki Amdouni is now the joint-top scorer in the Europa Conference League this season with seven goals, level with Fiorentina's Arthur Cabral.
• Fiorentina remain far and away the top scorers in this season's competition with 36 goals; final opponents West Ham are second on that list with 27.

Line-ups

Basel: Hitz; Lang, Nuhu, Pelmard; Ndoye, Xhaka (Frei 88), Burger (Males 106), Calafiori; Augustin (Zeqiri 81), Amdouni, Diouf

Fiorentina: Terracciano; Dodô, Milenković, Igor (Ranieri 56), Biraghi; Bonaventura (Barák 106), Amrabat, Castrovilli (Mandragora 120+2); Brekalo (Ikoné 46), Cabral (Jović 91), González

What's next?

Fiorentina will face West Ham in the 2023 Europa Conference League final in Prague on 7 June. The Viola are the nominal home team.