So long, Tariq, and best of luck at your next stop. Shame it didn't work out.

Yeah, sure, fine, great.

Mission accomplished.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends. www.violanation.com/serie-a/2188...

@violanation.bsky.social Looking forward to stress free Thursday night, without having to worry if La Viola can scrape past minnows from a small village in the Urals, with a population of 63. #ForzaViola

We're listening. www.violanation.com/viola-statio...

Can't even say these bozos lost the game because they never even showed up. Roma was playing 11-v-air.

Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Hermoso, Ndicka, Mancini; Wesley, Koné, Cristante, Çelik; Pisilli, Soulé; Malen Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Brescianini, Fagioli, Ndour; Solomon, Guðmundsson, Harrison

Good thing everyone's cool with having nuance in sports opinions.

When the season's petered out into nothing, you have to find talking points in the least significant things.

Can you tell that we're ready for summer?

It’s illustrative of how homophobic men’s football is, that a player accused of racist slurs defended himself by saying that his slurs were ‘only’ homophobic - leading to a six game ban rather than a ten game ban.

Fiorentina's best midfielder this season?

Paratici might have to go full Joe "2 phones" Dumars.

Had to ask if this was too mean a thing to write about a player.

Aaaaaaannnnnnndddddd exhale.

Lecce (4-3-3): Falco; Gallo, Tiago Gabriel, Siebert, Veiga; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Ngom; N’Dri, Cheddira, Pierotti Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Mandragora, Fagioli, Ndour; Guðmundsson, Piccoli, Harrison

Not crazy about this. Not even a little bit.

A respectable farewell to Viola-tinged Thursdays for at least another year. www.violanation.com/conference-l...

Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Comuzzo; Mandragora, Fagioli; Solomon, Guðmundsson, Harrison; Piccoli Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson; Canvot, Lacroix, Richards; Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Muñoz; Pino, Mateta, Sarr

Almost might be worth forfeiting this one to 1) keep everyone healthy and rested for Lecce, and 2) ensure it's just a 0-3 defeat and nothing worse.

That was 90 minutes that only a true Fiorentina sicko could love but for all you true Fiorentina sickos, well, yeah. You loved it.

Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Rugani, Dodô; Fabbian, Ndour, Mandragora; Fazzini, Piccoli, Harrison Lazio (4-3-3): Motta; Tavares, Romagnoli, Provstgaard, Lazzari; Bašiç, Patric, Taylor; Zaccagni, Dia, Cancellieri

Thank goodness Fiorentina did the decent thing and told everyone not to bother with the return leg.

Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson; Canvot, Lacroix, Richards; Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Muñoz; Guessand, Mateta, Sarr Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Ndour, Fagioli, Fabbian; Guðmundsson, Piccoli, Harrison

The year is 2148. On the cold, dead surface of the earth, officials announce that, due to unforeseen structural and budgetary concerns, the Franchi's completion date has been pushed back another 2 years.

Fiorentina's chances basically come down to which is funnier: getting destroyed here or getting all the way back to the final before pooping the bed again.

Feeling a bit optimistic and that means Fiorentina's about to pull the rug out from under us for the 15th time this season.

Ugly. Gross. Unpleasant. Dire. 3 points.

Hellas Verona (3-5-2): Montipò; Frese, Edmundsson, Nelsson; Belghali, Bernede, Gagliardini, Akpa Akpro, Oyegoke; Orban, Bowie Fiorentina (4-3-3, maybe): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Comuzzo; Ndour, Fagioli, Fabbian; Guðmundsson, Kean, Harrison

In a normal season, this would be a trap game. In this season, it's not really a trap so much as a genuine question as to whether one team's better.

A loanee check-in is one of the classics of international break blogging.

Same energy

Moise Kean is in a group project hell that's all too familiar for anyone who's ever been in school.

Want a little helping of awkwardness on the heaping pile of awfulness that's been this season?

Antlers up.

MOISE!!!!!!!!!

Nearly outrageous from Kean there, which feels like a perfect summation of his season.

Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Brescianini, Fagioli, Ndour; Guðmundsson, Kean, Parisi Inter Milan (3-5-2): Sommer; Carlos Augusto, Akanji, Bisseck; Dimarco, Zieliński, Çalhanoğlu, Barella, Dumfries; Esposito, Thuram

Italy's premier Ekstraklasa team prepares for another league fixture.

That was a genuinely enjoyable game. Maybe the first since the 5-1 against Udinese. Pretty pretty pretty pretty good.

Cremonese (3-5-2): Audero; Folino, Ceccherini, Luperto; Floriani Mussolini, Maleh, Thorsby, Bondo, Barbieri; Bonazzoli, Ðurić Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Brescianini, Fagioli, Mandragora; Guðmundsson, Piccoli, Parisi

Catch up with a former Primavera star who's doing really well in Serie B. Top work as ever from @zachlowy.bsky.social.

The perfect prelude to a hilarious collapse next week.

Fiorentina (4-3-3): Christensen; Gosens, Ranieri, Comuzzo, Fortini; Fabbian, Ndour, Mandragora; Fazzini, Piccoli, Parisi Raków Częstochowa (3-4-2-1): Zych; Svarnas, Racovițan, Tudor; Pieńko, Repka, Struski, Ameyaw; Makuch, López; Brunes

Nobody should be feeling good about Fiorentina's chances to avoid relegation and here's something to reinforce those bad feelings.

Recent events have helped us understand that we went way too optimistic in the previous episode and we have since corrected course.

Not sure what's more likely: Fiorentina fouling its own undergarments in the most embarrassing fashion possible or Fiorentina pulling out a dramatic win to set up an even bigger disappointment in the away leg.

Both teams snoozing through 90 minutes provides further evidence of the evil of daylight savings time.

Fiorentina (4-3-3): de Gea; Gosens, Ranieri, Pongračić, Dodô; Ndour, Fagioli, Mandragora; Harrison, Piccoli, Guðmundsson Parma (3-5-2): Corvi; Circati, Troilo, Delprato; Valeri, Keita, Nicolussi Caviglia, Sorensen, Cremaschi; Strefezza, Pellegrino