Fiorentina fought their way to the final of the Europa Conference League after defeating Basel 3-1 on Thursday, in the last seconds of extra time to set up Final clash against West Ham United.
Recall that the Viola conceded two late goals in the first leg for a 2-1 defeat, so needed a victory at St. Jakob-Park to reach the Final.
The visitors got on the scoreboard 10 minutes before halftime, as Cristiano Biraghi found Nico Gonalez via a corner. The Argentinian headed it past Marvin Hitz to put Fiorentina ahead.
But, Basel would not give in. Less than 10 minutes into the second half, the Swiss giants put their noses in front once more. Andy Pelmard took a free kick quickly, finding Zeki Amdouni. The Basel striker got past Igor before converting his chance.
With less than 20 minutes to play at St. Jakob Park, Gonzalez did his magic again. A loose ball in the box found the winger, who made no mistake in scoring his second of the game.
The game would ultimately go to extra time with the aggregate score being 3-3. Both teams had glorious chances to score the crucial goal and send their team to Prague. Yet, just as penalties loomed, Fiorentina snatched it at the death.
After Hitz made an initial save on Jonathan Ikoné, the ball was recycled, ultimately falling to substitute Antonin Barák, who slotted it home. The Czech’s goal came in the 129th minute, sending Fiorentina fans into euphoria and the Basel fans heartbroken.
La Viola held on for the final moments to prevail 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. They move on now to face West Ham, who is in the final courtesy of a 3-1 aggregate win against AZ Alkmaar. Pablo Fornals scored the only goal of the second leg in stoppage time to put them through.
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