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FIORENTINA 0 - 1 JUVENTUS (Agg. 1-2) Andrea Pirlo (71′) March 20, 2014 - 7:00 PM Artemio Franchi Stadium — Florence Referee: Howard Webb (England) Bonucci: 'Juve are a great team' Mar 20, 2014 Leonardo Bonucci said Juventus were able to eliminate Fiorentina thanks to “the awareness we are a great team.” AMAZONIAN Andrea Pirlo’s free kick proved decisive on the night and overall, sending the Bianconeri through 2-1 on aggregate into the Europa League quarter-finals. “We knew it was going to be a tough game because they too wanted to keep going in this competition,” Bonucci told Mediaset. “We played with the awareness that we are a great team and the right humility that allowed us to suffer under pressure. AMAZONIAN “Plus we have a champion like Pirlo who can turn any game. Those who step on to the field put themselves at the disposal of the side and sacrifice for their teammates. “We will enjoy the victory and only think about the draw after the match with Catania. Scudetto? Until it is mathematically ours, we won’t say we’ve won anything.”

FIORENTINA 0 - 1 JUVENTUS (Agg. 1-2) Andrea Pirlo (71′) March 20, 2014 - 7:00 PM Artemio Franchi Stadium — Florence Referee: Howard Webb (England) Fiorentina vs. Juventus: Europa League Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction Mar 20, 2014 Andrea Pirlo came to Juventus' rescue once again, scoring the lone goal with a superb free-kick as Juve won 1-0 at 10-man Fiorentina on Thursday evening to advance to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. AMAZONIAN With Juventus needing only a single goal to advance, Pirlo rifled in a 71st-minute free-kick moments after Fiorentina's Gonzalo Rodriguez had been sent off for his second bookable offence. Coupled with last week's 1-1 draw at Juventus, the Bianconeri moved into the quarter-finals with a 2-1 aggregate victory. It was the second time in as many games that Pirlo had played the role of set-piece hero for Juve. On Sunday, the 34-year-old Italian international midfielder propelled Juventus to a Serie A victory at Genoa with a goal from a 89th-minute free-kick. WhoScored.com ✔ @WhoScored Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus FT: Shots(OT) 11(3) - 19(7), Possession 44% - 56%, Tackles 22 - 21 http://bit.ly/1dubO21 #UEL #FiorentinaJuve AMAZONIAN This time, the stage was the Europa League round-of-16 second leg at Fiorentina's Stadio Artemio Franchi. And after playing hero once again, Pirlo has put Juventus in good position for European glory this spring. Leading Serie A by a massive 14 points, Juventus look certain to win a third straight league title. After seeing off Fiorentina's stiff challenge, the Bianconeri must rank among the favourites for the Europa League crown as well. Fiorentina, meanwhile, are 10 points behind third-placed Napoli in the race for Italy's final Champions League spot but remain well-positioned to qualify for next season's Europa League via their league finish. The Viola are set to face Napoli in the Coppa Italia final on May 3. AMAZONIAN After scoring a late equaliser in last week's first leg, Fiorentina settled into the second leg quickly and immediately started creating chances. Josip Ilicic sent a long-range shot off target in the second minute, and Mario Gomez skimmed the post a minute later after beating Gianluigi Buffon. Juventus soon gained a foothold, and Fernando Llorente headed off target in the seventh minute. Paul Pogba's 24th-minute header then forced Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto into a spectacular save, but Pogba had already been ruled offside. Fiorentina came close again in the 28th minute, as David Pizarro volleyed just wide of the bottom corner. At the other end, Neto smothered Carlos Tevez's shot in the 29th minute and saved again from Pogba two minutes later. AMAZONIAN The hosts' best chance of the first half came in the 39th minute, when Ilicic took advantage of a poor clearance by Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini. But after dribbling to the edge of the box, Ilicic blasted his shot well over the bar. With the match still tied 0-0 at half-time, the two teams produced end-to-end action in the early moments of the second 45 minutes. Buffon saved Borja Valero's free-kick in the 52nd minute and again from Juan Cuadrado's powerful strike five minutes later. Arturo Vidal had Juventus' best chance yet in the 59th minute, but he headed off target from Mauricio Isla's cross. Pogba shot off target five minutes later, and Tevez had another effort saved in the 66th minute. AMAZONIAN The game changed with just over 20 minutes left, as Fiorentina went down to 10 men. Rodriguez, who had already been booked in the first half, drew his second booking—and subsequent red card—in the 69th minute for a foul on Llorente. From the resulting free-kick, Pirlo curled his shot into the top corner to give Juventus the crucial breakthrough goal. Leading 1-0, Juventus came close again in the 82nd minute through Stephan Lichtsteiner and again eight minutes later through Vidal's header. But the misses didn't matter, and Pirlo's lone goal again made the difference. AMAZONIAN Grades FIORENTINA Neto 7.6 Juan Cuadrado 6.7 Stefan Savic 7.0 Gonzalo Rodriguez 6.3 Nenad Tomovic 6.4 David Pizarro 7.0 Juan Vargas 6.2 Alberto Aquilani 6.9 Borja Valero 7.0 Josip Ilicic 6.0 Mario Gomez 6.5 Substitutes Rating Massimo Ambrosini (for Pizarro, 46') 6.3 Alessandro Matri (for Gomez, 64') 5.9 Facundo Roncaglia (for Ilicic, 72') 6.1 Ratings via WhoScored.com AMAZONIAN JUVENTUS Gianluigi Buffon 7.0 Leonardo Bonucci 7.4 Martin Caceres 7.3 Giorgio Chiellini 7.0 Mauricio Isla 7.1 Kwadwo Asamoah 6.5 Paul Pogba 7.6 ANDREA PIRLO 8.4 Arturo Vidal 7.6 Carlos Tevez 6.8 Fernando Llorente 6.2 Substitutes Rating Stephan Lichtsteiner (for Isla, 76') 6.7 Pablo Osvaldo (for Llorente, 88') 6.4 Ratings via WhoScored.com AMAZONIAN Up Next Fiorentina play at Napoli in Serie A on Sunday. Juventus play at Catania the same day.

FIORENTINA 0 - 1 JUVENTUS (Agg. 1-2) Andrea Pirlo (71′) March 20, 2014 - 7:00 PM Artemio Franchi Stadium — Florence Referee: Howard Webb (England) EL: Pirlo ends Fiorentina dream Andrea Pirlo’s free kick gave Juventus a 1-0 victory away to 10-man Fiorentina and a spot in the Europa League quarter-finals. Mar 20, 2014 The 1-1 result from the first leg left everything wide open for this Europa League Round of 16. It was the third meeting in under two weeks, as the Bianconeri won 1-0 in Serie A. Juan Cuadrado was dropped for the Turin tie, but back in the starting XI here with Mario Gomez and Josip Ilicic. Borja Valero was available, as his ban only applies to Serie A, but Mati Fernandez sidelined. Juve missed the injured Andrea Barzagli, Angelo Ogbonna and Claudio Marchisio, so Martin Caceres stepped into the back three. Giuseppe Rossi was in the stands after flying in from America to be with his teammates. AMAZONIAN There was a great chance within the opening three minutes, as Gomez ran on to a Borja Valero through ball and drilled his angled drive inches past the far post. Moments later Cuadrado’s pass rolled beyond Gomez in the middle. Fernando Llorente’s header was wide and a Carlos Tevez pull-back was crucially cut out by Stefan Savic. Paul Pogba had a good opportunity, as he chested down a long ball and under pressure managed to half-volley with the outside of his right boot for it to flash across the goal. Neto got down well to parry a Pogba header off the line, but the offside flag was up anyway. A corner was not cleared effectively and David Pizarro blasted just wide of the upright, while Neto smothered Tevez and Pogba snapshots. AMAZONIAN Gonzalo Rodriguez was booked for a challenge on Tevez and will be suspended for Fiorentina’s next European game. The visitors had a long move on 37 minutes that saw Mauricio Isla’s shot charged down and Arturo Vidal knock down a cross for Tevez’s volley over. Ilicic wasted a golden opportunity, scuffing his finish high and wide off his right foot after Giorgio Chiellini’s defensive error. AMAZONIAN At the other end, Tevez again stung Neto’s gloves with a sudden strike. Straight after the restart the Argentine was dangerous with an effort deflected over by Rodriguez. The second half started badly for the hosts, as Pizarro keeled over with a muscular problem and made way for Massimo Ambrosini. Cuadrado went on a promising counter-attack and was barged over in the D by Vidal, who received a yellow card that means he’ll be suspended for his next UEFA match. Borja Valero curled the resulting free kick over the wall, but too slowly to trouble Gigi Buffon. AMAZONIAN Another set play was knocked on for Nenad Tomovic, but the defender hesitated and allowed Bonucci to charge down the finish. Cuadrado was also booked for tripping Kwadwo Asamoah and goes into a European ban. Buffon finally had a tough save to make on 56 minutes, beating away a powerful Cuadrado strike. Vidal should’ve done better when nodding an Isla cross over the bar from eight yards. Gomez pounced on a Chiellini error and combined with Cuadrado, but the German was closed down in the area. A Pogba overhead kick was off target and Tevez again fired straight at Neto. AMAZONIAN There was a turning point on 69 minutes when Llorente turned Gonzalo Rodriguez and was brought down on the edge of the box. It was the defender’s second bookable offence, leaving Fiorentina with 10 men. More importantly, it gave Pirlo a free kick that he smashed into the far top corner with power and precision rather than his usual curled finish. It was his fifth free kick goal of the season, the second in a week after he decided a 1-0 victory at Genoa. That goal put Juve ahead on the night and on aggregate, so 10-man Fiorentina needed a goal to force extra time. It was Neto who needed a desperate reaction save on Llorente’s diving header from point-blank range, then a one-handed parry on substitute Stephan Lichtsteiner at the base of the near post. AMAZONIAN Alberto Aquilani’s strike was smothered by Buffon, but the Viola were unable to turn it around with 10 men. In the final minute Vidal wasted the chance to secure the win with a free header wide from Daniel Osvaldo's chipped cross, much to Antonio Conte's fury. In stoppages Osvaldo went on the counter and rolled across to Tevez, but Neto smothered at his feet and was kicked in the back of the head. The goalkeeper was livid and referee Howard Webb booked both players. AMAZONIAN Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus (1-2 agg) Scorers: Pirlo 70 (J) Fiorentina: Neto; Tomovic, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Savic; Cuadrado, Aquilani, Pizarro (Ambrosini 48), Vargas; Borja Valero; Gomez (Matri 63), Ilicic Juventus: Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla (Lichtsteiner 76), Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez, Llorente (Osvaldo 87) Ref: Webb (ENG) Sent off: Rodriguez 69 (F)

FIORENTINA 0 - 1 JUVENTUS (Agg. 1-2) Andrea Pirlo (71′) March 20, 2014 - 7:00 PM Artemio Franchi Stadium — Florence Referee: Howard Webb (England) Pirlo pearler sends Conte's side through The veteran struck a sublime free kick after Gonzalo Rodriguez was sent off to secure a quarter-final spot for the Italian champions. Mar 20, 2014 Juventus sealed a 2-1 aggregate win over bitter Italian rivals Fiorentina after Andrea Pirlo's superb strike gave them a 1-0 win at the Artemio Franchi on Thursday. AMAZONIAN Pirlo has won every major Italian domestic trophy and has experienced much success in European football, but has yet to taste glory in the continent's second tier competition. But the 34-year-old's hopes of adding that trophy to his list of honours are still intact after he helped Juve overcome Fiorentina for the second time this month, scoring from a free kick again after netting a late winner against Genoa in similar fashion at the weekend. Juve beat Vincenzo Montella's men 1-0 in Serie A, but it was the hosts who held a potentially crucial away goal going into the game after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turin. AMAZONIAN Fiorentina had dictated play for much of Thursday's encounter, but the last-16 tie turned midway through the second half when the Florence club saw skipper Gonzalo Rodriguez dismissed after conceding the crucial free kick on the edge of the area. Pirlo capitalised on the opportunity presented to him, finding the top corner from the set-piece to seal progress to the quarter-finals for Antonio Conte's men 2-1 on aggregate. Carlos Tevez returned to the Juve starting XI after missing the first leg and the win over Genoa on Sunday, while Mario Gomez was preferred to Alessandro Matri at the head of the Fiorentina attack. AMAZONIAN Fiorentina almost made the ideal start inside the first two minutes when Gomez – who scored the equaliser in the first encounter - raced through on goal, but the German could only scuff his shot wide. The visitors gradually worked their way into the game, although Juve struggled to create any goalscoring opportunities in the first half. Instead, it was Montella's men who continued to look the more dangerous, David Pizarro's long-range drive forcing Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon into a fine reflex save just before the half-hour mark. AMAZONIAN Tevez and Paul Pogba then drew routine saves from Neto in the Fiorentina goal, before Pirlo curled over with an ambitious free kick from range. Buffon was the busier of the two keepers for much of the encounter and needed to be on his guard again to keep out a powerful swerving strike from Juan Cuadrado early in the second half. Yet Juve remained a threat, spurning a glorious opportunity as Arturo Vidal headed narrowly over from Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla. AMAZONIAN However, Juve's hopes were significantly boosted on 69 minutes as Rodriguez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Fernando Llorente. And Conte's men immediately took advantage as Pirlo slammed the resulting free kick into the top corner beyond a helpless Neto. From there Juve were able to take complete control of the contest and were denied a second when Neto produced a fantastic stop from Tevez's close-range header, but the Italian champions held on to maintain their hopes of reaching the final on home turf.

MAREMMA BUHAIOLA ... LA JUVE!

STASERA 'UN SE RIDE! LA JUVE MI HA FATTO INGRULLIRE.

É colpa dell'isteria di cui soffre il portierino viola.

Bravissimo Montella. Gesto nobilissimo in una squadra di esaltati.

Vidal incredibile fuori.

Osvaldo per Llorente.

Viola ammutoliti.

'Sta punizione di Pirlo non l'ho capita.

Avvocato, ti sbagli su Valero e Pirlo.

Gradissimo Andrea ... ancora grazie Galliani!

ANDREA PIRLO 0-1

Dai Andrea!

Punizione per Pirlo.

Rodriguez espulso.

Mai davvero pericolosi. Neto tranquillissimo.

Si avverte anche dal pc la tensione che c'é in campo.

Entra Alejandro.

Troppi errori, siamo poco lucidi.

Vidal di poco fuori.

Webb vuol far giocare all'inglese solo che in campo ci sono due squadre italiane.

Valero non é Pirlo.