Ferencváros played a 2-2 draw on Thursday as a guest of this year's finalist Fiorentina in the second round of the group stage of the football Conference League, but still remained in the top of the four. Head coach Dejan Stankovic does not consider the fact that Fiorentina equalized in extra time to be two points lost, but rather sees Ferencváros' 2-2 draw at the home of this year's finalist in the second round of the Football Conference League as a point gained.

Barnabás Varga gave the green and whites the lead with his 18th goal of the season after 25 minutes, and at the beginning of the second half, French Ibrahim Cissé headed into the home goal. The Florentine team then took control after the three substitutions made in the 60th minute, then made it even better with a header from the Czech Antonin Barak, and equalized with a goal from the French Jonathan Ikone in extra time.

    "I am absolutely not sad or bitter. It was a fantastic game, I am very proud of the team and the players because we played better football for 65 minutes. This is an extra point we got. Of course, it was possible to win or play even better, but there is no reason to regret. We could have scored around the 60th minute, but we could have even got the third goal in the 97th minute. That's football"

- evaluated the Serbian specialist of the Hungarian champion after the meeting in Florence.

In response to MTI's interest, Stankovic called Ben Romdhané's not only his offensive game, but also his defensive work outstanding. He added that they had prepared a lot for this clash with him, and the Israeli midfielder fought a lot and gave his all. And he justified his replacement by saying that it would have been impossible to sustain the pace at which he played football until the end of the match.

    "They did a great job at Ferencváros even before my arrival, and the club continued to develop, and this must continue with me as well. This is Hungary's number one club team with a brave mentality, so I have to be brave too. What I can already see progressing in is organization and will, but it will be even better"

Stankovic spoke about the possibilities for advancement, and he especially thanked the approximately two thousand Ferencváros fans for continuously cheering and supporting the team for a hundred minutes.

His colleague, Vincenzo Italiano, said that Fiorentina deserved so much, because the rival played much better in the first 60 minutes.

    "After that, we gained the upper hand and deservedly equalized. The replaced players performed very well, thanks to them this scoring"

- said the coach of Fiorentina, who said that in the first two-thirds of the match, their game was slow and they could not take advantage of the skills of their fast and strong football players on the wings, and they were often inferior in duels.

Italiano admitted that he wanted to rest some of his key players before the rally against Napoli at the weekend, but the match did not give him the opportunity, because they had to work extremely hard to equalize.

Although Ferencváros ended its ten-game winning streak with the 2-2 draw, its unbeaten streak continued. In the third round, which will take place in three weeks, Genk, who also has four points, but scored fewer goals, will be the guest of the second Belgian Genk.

MTI / civilek.info

Cover photo: Dibusz Dénes (b) and Muhamed Besic (k), Ferencváros players, after the Fiorentina - Ferencváros TC match in the second round of the group stage of the soccer Conference League at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence on October 5, 2023.
The final result was a 2-2 draw. MTI/Koszticsák Solid