Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus – Vanoli: ‘We must stay humble, we are still at the bottom’

Fiorentina coach Paolo Vanoli urged his players to “stay humble” after picking up a valuable point against Juventus, stressing that the club must remain fully focused on their survival fight.

Speaking to DAZN after the 1-1 draw, with quotes via FiorentinaNews, Vanoli said the team had to confront the reality of their league position. “We have to accept the fact we’re at the bottom of the table, and we need the humility to recognise where we are,” he explained.

It was a brave performance from the Viola, who gave the Bianconeri a good match and came away with a point as a deserved reward.

“I asked the players to deliver a performance for our people. It’s another point on the road to safety, our objective has changed and we need to stay concentrated on that.”

Vanoli admitted the early stages reflected the tension around the club. The coach has only been recently appointed after Stefano Pioli’s dismissal and is still attempting to make his mark on the team.

“We started a bit fearful, and I expected that given the situation. We left Marì isolated against Vlahovic too many times and that’s something we must fix. We have strong forwards and we need to serve them properly, but that only happens if we build better from the back. It’s the beginning of a process, and now we need to keep our heads down.”

He also praised Moise Kean for his commitment despite failing to score. It has been a rocky start to the season for the Italian forward, who finished last season as the league’s second top scorer behind former Atalanta forward Mateo Retegui.

“Moise is a top striker and he showed it again tonight. I’m only sorry he couldn’t find the goal. He’s a leader, and we have to do more to supply him inside the box. We played with two physical forwards, but they need to learn how to complement each other, one has to work for the other. We have plenty of options in that area. Moise showed how much he cares about this team and this shirt.”

Fiorentina’s next match sees them go up against AEK Athens on Thursday evening in the Conference League before a trip to Atalanta next Sunday.