Ferencváros advanced from Group F of the Football Conference League in second place, as it played a 1-1 draw at home with the Italian finalists of the previous competition, Fiorentina, who entered the round of 16 as first place.

The green and whites took the lead at the beginning of the second half with a goal from Kristoffer Zachariassen, but the Florentines equalized with Luca Ranieri's goal in the 73rd minute. The distribution of points meant that Fiorentina entered the round of 16 in March as group leader, while the Hungarian champions, who also had a good season in the Europa League last season, have to play as runners-up in February to reach the round of 16.


The Hungarian fans welcomed their favorites to the decisive clash with a live image: they stretched a huge molino with the inscription "the hellish spectacle begins", on which a fighter holding the flag of Ferencváros is about to defeat his purple opponent, while Greek fires were lit in the stands.

From the first minute, it was clear that even though a draw would be a good result for Ferencváros, they were not playing to score points, rather they were attacking, but they could not surprise the defense of the Florentines. The Italian team reached the goal of the Hungarian champions for the first time after ten minutes, but then Dibus had to make a big save right away. From then on, the dice turned, the Italian team was more in control, but the rear formation of the green and whites was also in the mud. Fiorentina, which was without its best team captain Cristiano Biraghit due to suspension, and Italian international Giacomo Bonaventura and Brazilian Arthur Melo due to injury, lost another key player after twenty minutes, as the Argentinian national team striker, Nicolas Gonzalez, had to be replaced. From the middle of the half, the game mostly took place between the two teams of 16, so the goals were not in danger, i.e. then it seemed that the draw actually suited both sides: the guests would be group leaders, and the home team would also advance as second. The quietly flowing match - the tranquility was disturbed only by a few sound grenades - suddenly came to life when Ferencváros had two opportunities in one attack, but Christensen blocked both Katona and Civic's shots, so no goals were scored until the break.

Ferencváros got off to a great start after the change of half, as they took the lead from their first attack, which also meant that they jumped ahead of their rivals to take the lead in the top four, so they would only have to continue the series in the round of 16 in March. After five minutes, Fiorentina took the lead and threatened for the first time after a corner, but Milenkovic's header missed the bottom left corner. From there, Fiorentina dominated the field, but the green and whites defended with great determination, enthusiasm and running a lot, so the rival had no chances. The Hungarian champion, on the other hand, could have even doubled his advantage, because he took advantage of the opening areas and led several promising counterattacks, one time with a feat saved by the visitors' goalkeeper. Although Fiorentina was unable to outplay the Ferencváros defense, they equalized from a corner and regained the lead in the fourth quarter. In fact, they could have turned it around a few minutes later - which would have also meant elimination for FTC - but Nzola spoiled his shot. Although both sides fought with honor in the first half, no more goals were scored, so the two teams advanced hand in hand.

On Monday, Ferencváros will face an opponent from the group three of the Europa League in the draw in Nyon.

MTI

Budapest, December 14, 2023.
Ferencváros players celebrate after a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina in the sixth and final round of the group stage of the soccer Conference League at the Groupama Arena on December 14, 2023.
Ferencváros advanced from the group in second place. MTI/Tamás Vasvári