Tired Fiorentina plead for patience

ACF Fiorentina players blamed a hectic fixture schedule after they were held to a surprise 0-0 draw by FC Steaua Bucureşti on Matchday 2.

Extra commitments
Fiorentina suffered a 3-0 Serie A drubbing against S.S. Lazio in their previous midweek game before grinding out a 1-0 victory over Genoa CFC on Saturday and then battling away against a gritty Steaua side in the UEFA Champions League. Italy striker Alberto Gilardino summed up the mood, saying: "I think 0-0 is a fair result. We played three days ago and gave everything we had this evening. We made every effort to get the three points but we just didn't manage it and there's a sense of regret about that."

Welcome break
Fiorentina's goalkeeper Sébastien Frey, who made some vital saves, echoed Gilardino's view. "You have to allow for the fact that we're playing every three days and there's little time to fix certain mistakes we're making during games. I think the [international] break that's coming up will do a lot of the players good."

Long balls
Coach Cesare Prandelli will probably want to use what time he has on the training ground to improve Fiorentina's approach play, which failed to make an impact against Steaua. Let down by the passing in a congested midfield, the hosts too often resorted to a long upfield passes for Gilardino and Romanian strike partner Adrian Mutu. "Given how we have been playing at home in recent seasons, we could have done a bit more tonight," Frey said. "We played a lot of long balls at defenders who were two metres tall, so there wasn't much in the way of flowing football."

Frustrated fans
The 28-year-old Frenchman also accepted the verdict of some of the home fans, who whistled their frustration as the players trudged off the pitch. "The important thing is that at least they were there at the end of the game," he said. "People are entitled to their opinions and if the team have played badly, I don't think whistles do anyone any harm. If it's during a game, though, that really can wind people up and tonight it wouldn't have been fair either. The commitment was there, even if the football wasn't as good as it has been at other times. A point is better than nothing."

Bayern trip 
Fiorentina, whose next Group F appointment is at FC Bayern München on 21 October, know they will have to step up a gear in their next game – but at least time is on their side. An optimistic Gilardino said: "Bayern have drawn with [Olympique Lyonnais], so it's still all wide open and there are plenty of matches to come." The Bundesliga titleholders top the section with four points after their 1-1 draw with Lyon, who like Fiorentina have two points, while Steaua have one.