Antonin Barák (without jersey) turns away jubilantly, the FC Basel players are in a vale of tears: Fiorentina is in the final of the Conference League. © APA / afp / SEBASTIEN BOZON
Fiorentina is in the final of the Conference League! Thanks to a last-minute goal by Antonin Barák, the “Viole” can fight for the second title of the third highest international competition in Europe on June 7th in Prague. Then they meet West Ham United.
18. May 2023
From: fs
The Fiorentina had to recover from the bitter 2-1 home defeat in the first leg against FC Basel and scored in the 35th minute. Minute through Nicolás González also the lead. After the change of sides, however, Zeki Amdouni scored the 1-1 equalizer for the Confederates and brought Basel towards the finals. But again Fiorentina found the right answer through González and scored the 2-1 in the 72nd minute.
It went into extra time, in which a moment of shock happened after the change of sides. A medical emergency occurred in the Florence guest block. After a minute-long break, during which the players and coaches of both teams looked worriedly towards the Fiorentina fans, the game continued. The added time in the second half of the extra time was correspondingly long and in the 9th minute of the extra time it was 3:1. Then Barák was on the spot after a header extension from Jovic, pushed in from seven meters and sent the “Viole” to seventh heaven.
West Ham close the sack late
In the second semi-final, English Premier League club West Ham United clinched a late win against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar 1-0 and are through to the Conference League final after beating 2-1 in the first leg. After a hard-fought game, Pablo Fornals shattered all of Alkmaar’s dreams in the 94th minute and scored after a counterattack to make it 1-0.
Conference League Semifinals Second Legs:
Basel – Fiorentina 1:3 (first leg 2:1)
Goals: 0:1 González (35th), 1:1 Amdouni (55th), 1:2 González (72nd), 1:3 Barák (120th+9)
Alkmaar v West Ham 0:1 (first leg 1:2)
Tor: 0:1 Fornals (90.+4)