UEFA Conference League Tactical Analysis: How Fiorentina beat Celje to reach another semi-final
Friday, April 18, 2025
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UEFA Technical Observer Marians Pahars shines a spotlight on the importance of a potent striker and clever running in behind after a dramatic UEFA Conference League quarter-final second leg.
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Fiorentina reached the semi-final of the UEFA Conference League for the third year in a row by surviving a brave Celje comeback to progress courtesy of an individual effort by Moise Kean that sealed a 4-3 aggregate victory in the second leg.
In this article, UEFA Technical Observer Marians Pahars – working together with UEFA's analysis unit – examines the home side's bold pressing, Kean's decisive contribution and the varying attacking approaches of both sides in an "equal game with equal chances to score".
The analysis of Fiorentina's quest to build on the 2-1 first-leg lead begins with Raffaele Palladino's clear out-of-possession strategy.
Fiorentina's high pressure
"In the first half, Fiorentina often forced Celje to go long and lose possession," explained Pahars.
The first video highlights how they did it. Clips one and two show a clear player-for-player marking strategy led by Kean's dynamism in the first line. In clip one, the collective pressure yields a corner after the centre-back Pietro Comuzzo pushes all the way to the corner flag to pursue his marker – a key feature of Fiorentina's disciplined 5-3-2 structure with players quick to jump to apply good pressure.
The turnover shown in the second example leads to a header at the far post by Kean. "The high press worked very well for Fiorentina," said Pahars. He also noted their success in the counter-press, which is evident in clip three. Again, Kean is alert and eager to exploit space in behind and on the outside of his marker in the final third as soon as the ball is regained.
The second video shows Fiorentina's co-ordinated movements to attack space in build-up.
Pahars noted the boldness of the back three – Comuzzo, Marin Pongračič and the captain, Luca Ranieri – in stepping into midfield with the ball as well as during the bouts of intense pressing highlighted above.
Fiorentina attacking space
The first two clips illustrate this perfectly. On both occasions Pongračič advances with the ball as the attacking midfielders Rolando Mandragora and Albert Gudmundsson clear the space to disrupt Celje's mid-block. In clip one the midfielders split to allow Pongračič to break the lines and feed Kean running in behind towards goal. In the second example, the Croatian international defender finds Mandragora for the opening goal as Gudmundsson's clever positioning lures out the Celje centre-back to leave uncovered space to attack.
Fiorentina's "controlled possession" meant that they "could prepare well and attack with clever rotations in the middle," explained Pahars. "But the other big feature was the runs in behind from both strikers and midfielders and the left wing-back Fabiano Parisi. Celje had particular problems dealing with runners in between centre-back and full-back. It was a big threat."
Kean's performance in particular impressed. "Kean was fantastic; he made the difference," said Pahars. "In the first half, he did really well dropping deeper in hold-up play. He was always an option for them to get out of pressure. But his intelligent running in behind stood out too and created a few chances."
In the second half Kean's game "changed tactically and strategically", according to Pahars. "Kean became influential in transitional moments. Fiorentina dropped deeper and he became the target man, carrying a threat when receiving wide and dribbling inside."
The final clip in the above video illustrates his impact clearly. Kean picks up the ball running in behind – after clever movement by Gudmundsson again – and dribbles towards goal before firing in superbly to score the vital equaliser on the night.
Celje take centre stage
Pahars reserved praise for Celje, however, for wresting control with a second-half momentum shift that resulted in two quick goals before Kean struck. "All credit to Celje for coming back into it by blocking the centre and not allowing Fiorentina the time and space to prepare their attacks well as they did in the first half," he said.
Svit Sešlar played a big part in their resurgence. "Celje started to get out through the middle a lot more as Sešlar dropped between the lines," explained Pahars. "They used clever combinations to get in behind and were ready to play with counter-pressure a lot more."
The final video shows how Sešlar's importance in the tie changed. The first clip offers a fleeting glimpse of his ability to find space and pick a pass in the first half. In the next clip, he combines brilliantly with Mark Zabukovnik to feed Aljoša Matko for their equaliser on the night, a superbly executed goal after a one-touch, third-man run combination typical of their second-half performance.
The final clip shows the flipside to Celje's boldness that briefly drew them level in the tie. Attacking in numbers, the Slovenian side find themselves exposed to the pace and penetration of Kean with space to target on the counterattack. It was a similar risk v reward strategy from Celje that ultimately allowed Kean to strike just 12 minutes later.
Coaching discussion
Reflecting on clever runs to exploit space in behind defences on show, Pahars emphasised the importance of player development. "It's a complex situation," explained the former Latvia striker. "To gain success from players running behind, the players have to be all united. Yes, the player on the ball is vital. But look at the Mandragora goal; he sees the opportunity and makes the move first to bring the defender with him, then he's gone.
"It's important to put players in these situations in training, because it's much easier for players to drop deeper and wider to get the ball and face up the defender. But the coach has to demand players run in behind. My coach always told me you have to explore and experiment to find the right time and moment to do it. It's about learning how to hide yourself a little bit and exploit the space already facing the goal.
"A coach has to have an eye for players who can play in these positions already. It's a combination of natural talent and quality and work of coaches guiding and putting them in situations, reflecting, watching videos and helping them improve."
Further analysis
