Almost a year ago to this day, Fiorentina contested the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League final against West Ham United. A goalless first 60 minutes was followed by two quickfire strikes a Said Benrahma penalty for the Hammers and a Giacomo Bonaventura strike for the Serie A outfit. As the game looked set to go into extra-time, Jarrod Bowen struck on the counter for West Ham in the very last minute of regulation to steal a 2-1 win for his side, having had fewer shots and lesser possession than their opponents.
On May 29, Fiorentina went through it all again to suffer heartbreak again, this time at the hands of Olympiacos. A dominant campaign that saw them beat Viktoria Plzeň and Club Brugge in the knockouts ended at the hands of the Greeks courtesy of Ayoub El Kaabis 116th-minute strike, a near-post header from a cross, to gift the continent its first-ever European trophy. Quite like West Ham, Olympiacos had lesser (albeit marginally) possession and fewer shots and shots on target. However, they disrupted Fiorentinas in-possession play to a degree that wouldve made most managers proud, while the runners-up missed some glorious opportunities as well.
This tactical analysis report will take a look at some key themes from the UEFA Europa Conference League final, with the analysis discussing the key tactics used by José Luis Mendilibar, brought in only in February, to win his second straight European title after guiding under-performing Sevilla to the UEFA Europa League title last year.
Line-ups
Olympiacos stuck with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, one that theyve used in 88.9% of their Conference League outings this term. They made two changes to the line-up drew 2-2 with Panathinaikos in their final Greek Super League game, with Francisco Ortega replacing Omar Richards at left-back. At the same time, Chiquinho was picked as the ten ahead of João Carvalho. Both Richards and Carvalho dropped to the bench.
Fiorentina countered Olympiacos formation with a 4-2-3-1 of their own, a shape Vincenzo Italiano chose in 60% of their Conference League matches. La Viola made four changes to the line-up that helped them edge Cagliari 3-2 in Serie A in their previous match. Centre-back Luca Ranieri dropped out for Lucas Martínez Quarta, while the three men behind striker Andrea Belotti were all switched out. Bonaventura moved up the pitch to replace Antonin Barák as the 10, with Arthur taking the formers place, while Christian Kouamé and Nicolás González operated on the wings in place of Gaetano Castrovilli and Jonathan Ikoné. Barák, Ranieri and Ikoné all settled for a place on the bench.
