Prandelli: 'The referee needed to show a little more tact'

The Violets equalized the game after Arturo Vidal's penalty kick with a Christian Kouame strike in minute 57. Yet, Romelu Lukaku's free header in the 119th minute took all hopes away from Fiorentina. 

“There is great disappointment and regret, but we are also proud of the performance, as we were a minute away from pushing Inter to penalties,” said the coach in the post-match press conference.

There were objections about the Lukaku header, as the Viola defender

Lucas Martinez Quarta

said he was fouled by the Belgian, revealing marks of a few scratches on his neck through social media after the game. 

“I do believe the winning goal should’ve been reviewed by the VAR, because 30 seconds from the end, the referee needed to show a little more tact,” continued Prandelli.

“Recent performances have been good, and clearly we still need to break away from the danger zone in Serie A, but we hope these games can help our self-belief to grow. We need more confidence when facing certain moments of the match.”

Franck Ribery

was again sidelined due to injury, so Kouame got a rare opportunity to start in the match and scored a goal as well.

“I had no doubts he would play well. Without anyone in the trequartista role, we can have two strikers, but when there’s a player between the lines, that becomes complicated. I liked the experience with Dusan Vlahovic and Kouame, but that’s only because we had three midfielders.

“Gaetano Castrovilli was a bit too deep in the first half, but he showed his potential going forward.”

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