Palladino: ‘So many false and wrong things written about Fiorentina’ | OneFootball

Raffaele Palladino and Fiorentina wanted to get something off their chest after the 2-1 victory away to Lazio. ‘So many false and wrong things were written about us.’

The Viola were in deep crisis as they came to the Stadio Olimpico this evening, still without a win in 2025 and scraping two points from the previous six rounds.

They came out fighting and took a 2-0 lead within 17 minutes thanks to the Yacine Adli volley and Lucas Beltran free header, then held on under intense pressure until Adam Marusic nodded in at the 92nd.

This sparked a chaotic finale that saw David De Gea make a desperate save on Adam Marusic and with the last kick of the game Pedro’s shot bounced off the inside of the upright, rolled all the way along the goal and back out.

After the opening goal, Dodo ran all the way to the touchline to give Palladino a big hug, silencing the reports of tension behind the scenes.

Palladino slams ‘false’ stories about Fiorentina tension

epa11855565 Fiorentina’s head coach Raffaele Palladino argues with referee Antonio Rapuano during the Italian Serie A soccer match between SS Lazio vs ACF Fiorentina at the Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 26 January 2025. EPA-EFE/GIUSEPPE LAMI

“In that hug, and in the whole performance, there was the hunger of a great squad to prove that everything written over the last month was absurd. The suggestions this was a split group that was not all working in the same direction, all absurd,” Palladino told DAZN.

“In the opening 20 minutes, they showed great character and quality to cause Lazio huge problems. We dedicate this victory to ourselves, because so many false and wrong things were written, not about the results, but about us.

“This is a fantastic group that works every day with great motivation, it works together, loses together and wins together.”

Beltran wears the Number 9 jersey, but to all intents and purposes he plays as a winger and support striker for Moise Kean.

“We know Lucas gives everything in any position you put him in, he sacrifices himself for the team and has this great Argentine spirit. He had a great performance, I think he is more of a trequartista or a support striker than a centre-forward, maybe even a mezz’ala,” confirmed Palladino.

“Obviously, losing Edoardo Bove robbed the team of some specific characteristics that we have rediscovered with Michael Folorunsho. We needed a player like him we can use on the right, left or the centre.

“Marin Pongracic had been out injured for a long time, so he fought hard too, I want to praise everyone. This team deserved this moment and we want to keep this attitude going for the rest of the season.”

It was a very tense situation on the touchline, as Adli was sent off after his substitution, having been booked for time-wasting and then another card for kicking the ball into the stands.

In the closing stages, both Lazio coach Marco Baroni and Fiorentina boss Palladino were sent off, so will sit out touchline bans next weekend.