Adrian Mutu hit the post but couldn’t score against his fellow Romanians as Fiorentina.
Soccer newsAdrian Mutu hit the post but couldn’t score against his fellow Romanians as Fiorentina. And Steaua Bucharest drew 0-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Fiorentina moved into a tie with Lyon with two points each in Group F, while Steaua got its first point. Bayern Munich leads the group with four points after drawing 1-1 with Lyon in the other group game Tuesday.
Fiorentina was whistled off the field.
“Whistles are never nice, but we’ve got to stay calm, gain experience and play with the right spirit. I don’t think this team deserves whistles,” Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli said. “Clearly, when you play at home the goal is three points and so the players are not happy, but the standings are still close.”
The hosts controlled for most of the night but the closest Fiorentina came to scoring was when Mutu hit the post with a free kick over Steaua’s wall in the 65th minute.
Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastian Frey preserved the draw in the 78th, sticking his foot out to deflect a shot from Portuguese forward Antonio Semedo.
Mutu was facing a club from his home country for the first time, and the 600 Steaua fans at Artemio Franchi stadium whistled and booed every time he touched the ball – since Mutu played for Steaua’s chief rival, Dinamo Bucharest, at the beginning of his career.
“Mutu worked hard and had some good scoring chances but we did our best to block him,” said Steaua coach Marius Lacatus, who played for Fiorentina in 1990-91.
Besides paying sharp attention to Mutu, Steaua also shut down Alberto Gilardino, who leads Fiorentina with six goals in all competitions this season.
“It was a team effort to stop their best players and rely on counterattacks and find open spaces,” Lacatus said. “We’re sorry we didn’t get the three points we wanted, but this result is OK too. Now we’ve got to continue playing well and get good results. It’s a very balanced group and this team can advance.”
It was Fiorentina’s first home game in the Champions League in eight years but the Fiorentina fans didn’t get a chance to hear the competition’s theme music before kickoff due to an apparent technical problem.
Mario Alberto Santana and Mutu surrounded Gilardino in Fiorentina’s 4-3-3 lineup and Gilardino had two early chances.
The Italy forward received a long pass behind Steaua’s defense in the ninth and shot far over the target, then had a shot from close-range blocked two minutes later.
Dayro Moreno was at the front of Steaua’s 4-2-3-1 lineup, with Semedo applying pressure up the left flank for the 1986 champions.
Steaua started to organize itself in the 16th, with Semedo sprinting behind the back four and missing wide on a counterattack. A defensive error by Martin Jorgensen left Semedo unmarked deep inside the area in the 27th but Steaua couldn’t take advantage.
Mutu had his first chance in the 33rd but his shot from the edge of the area went directly into the arms of Steaua goalkeeper Robinson Zapata.
The speedy Semedo threatened again in the 35th, with his angled shot hitting the outside of the net.
Luciano Zauri replaced Jorgensen at right back to start the second half for Fiorentina and the substitute used his body to get in the way of a close-range opportunity for Steaua two minutes after the break.
The Fiorentina attack struggled at the start of the second half.
After Mutu tried twice unsuccessfully to break free down the left flank, Fiorentina midfielder Felipe resorted to an ill-advised shot from 35 meters (yards) that missed the target in the 60th.
After Mutu hit the post and Frey made the save on Semedo, both teams used up their substitutions but neither side came close to scoring.
“We had a tough time organizing our play, but we fought until the end and when things calm down we’ll analyze this game and find several positives,” Prandelli said. “This was a good experience for us.”
Fiorentina visits Bayern next and Steaua hosts Lyon on Oct. 21.
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