Fiorentina stars Adrian Mutu and Sebastien Frey remained upbeat in spite of yesterday’s defeat at the hands of Inter.
The Viola arrived at San Siro on a high after beating PSV to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup last Thursday, but they couldn’t live with the leaders and went down to a 2-0 defeat.
Mutu, who was the hero in Eindhoven, paid tribute to the Tuscans’ opponents and insists that his side are on the right track.
“We needed to take advantage of our chances in the first half, as Inter were a different proposition after the break,” the Romanian explained.
“They are a great team and they deserve to be top of the League, but there are five games left and we are on our way to Champions League qualification.”
Goalkeeper Frey was Fiorentina’s star man and kept his side in the game with some of the heroics that have become his trademark over the last few seasons.
“I tried to do my part,” the Frenchman stressed on Sky Sport Italia. “Unfortunately I picked up a knock to my knee in the UEFA Cup game and then hurt my thigh in this game.
“While it was 0-0, I considered asking to be substituted, but then we conceded the first goal and then a second 10 minutes later and I decided to finish the game.
“I think we had an excellent first half and enjoyed some good possession, but they pushed us more in the second period. There was also some tiredness, which I for one felt.
“Inter and Roma have squads that are much better than ours, but we have done really well given that this is our first season playing so many games.
“I hope that the club can go forward with this project and the surprises of this campaign have been a positive thing.”
Despite the reverse, Fiorentina’s lead in fourth pace remains four points after Milan were beaten by Juventus, Roma saw off Udinese and Sampdoria were shocked by Reggina.
