Fiorentina vs Lech Poznań facts

Free-scoring Fiorentina are targeting a tenth successive win in the UEFA Europa Conference League as they host Polish champions Lech Poznań in the second leg of the quarter-final boasting a handsome 4-1 lead.

During the autumn Fiorentina were edged out of top spot in Group A by İstanbul Başakşehir on head-to-head goal difference, with both teams finding the net 14 times. The Viola added seven more goals in their knockout play-off as they eased past Braga (4-0 a, 3-2 h) and another five against Sivasspor in the round of 16 (1-0 h, 4-1 a). With four more scored in Poznań, they have set a new record total of 30 for one season in the competition proper, surpassing the previous high of 28 managed by both of last season's finalists, Roma and Feyenoord.

Having finished as runners-up in Group C to Villarreal, Lech broke new ground when they won a springtime European tie for the first time by eliminating Norway's Bodø/Glimt in the knockout play-offs (0-0 a, 1-0 h). They then made it past another Scandinavian side, Djurgården of Sweden, in the round of 16 (2-0 h, 3-0 a), substitute Filip Marchwiński scoring in both legs, to become the first Polish side to reach a major European quarter-final for 27 years.

Previous meetings

Fiorentina took command of this tie with their third-successive four-goal salvo on the road in the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase. Arthur Cabral tapped in their first goal after four minutes – his sixth of the competition – before Lech equalised through Kristoffer Velde, but the visitors' lead was restored before half-time thanks to Nicolás González's header. Fiorentina added two further goals after the interval with sumptuous strikes from Giacomo Bonaventura (58) and Jonathan Ikoné (63) to end Lech's nine-game unbeaten European home run this season (W8 D1) in emphatic style.

The clubs' paths crossed once before this season, in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League group stage. Lech were surprise winners of the first game in Italy, goals from Dawid Kownacki and Maciej Gajos giving newly appointed coach Jan Urban a 2-1 victory against Paulo Sousa's Fiorentina side, who responded with a 2-0 win in Poznań a fortnight later courtesy of Josip Iličić's double. Fiorentina would go through to the knockout phase as runners-up to Basel while Lech were eliminated in third place.

Those 2015/16 games against Lech were Fiorentina's most recent encounters with Polish opposition before this tie, the sole previous contest having been a 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League qualifier against Widzew Łódź, which they won 5-1 on aggregate (3-1 h, 2-0 a) to reach the group stage for the first time.

Lech's only other games against Italian clubs came in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 32, where they were knocked out by Udinese (2-2 h, 1-2 a), and the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage, where they drew twice against Juventus (3-3 a, 1-1 h) en route to the knockout phase, eliminating the Turin giants in the process.

Form guide

Fiorentina

Fiorentina claimed seventh place in Serie A last season under new head coach Vincenzo Italiano to make a first appearance in Europe since 2016/17. When they last returned to UEFA competition after an equally lengthy break, in 2007/08, they reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

UEFA Europa League knockout phase participants four seasons running from 2013/14 to 2016/17, Fiorentina returned to the continental stage last summer in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying play-offs, edging past Twente to reach the group stage, where they recovered from a poor start to win their last four matches, including back-to-back wins against Hearts (3-0 a, 5-1 h), and qualify as runners-up. Braga and Sivasspor were then swept aside in their first two knockout ties as the Viola kept alive their bid to succeed Roma and keep the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy in Italy.

This is Fiorentina's ninth appearance in a major UEFA quarter-final. They have won seven of the previous eight, including all of the last four, most recently overcoming Dynamo Kyiv in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League (1-1 a, 2-0 h). Their only defeat at this stage was by Celtic in the 1969/70 European Cup (0-3 a, 1-0 h).

Fiorentina are unbeaten in six European home games this season (W5 D1), winning the last four. They have found the net at least once in the last 14 continental fixtures at their own stadium, scoring 26 goals in the last ten.

Fiorentina have emerged triumphant from 12 of the 14 previous UEFA ties in which they won the first away leg, the most recent success against Braga in this season's knockout play-off. This is the first time the Italian side have claimed a 4-1 first-leg win on the road.

Lech

Absent from Europe last season, Lech were triumphant on the domestic front in the year of their centenary, winning an eighth Polish league title – their first since 2014/15, when they were also led by 2021/22 Ekstraklasa-winning head coach Maciej Skorża, who was subsequently replaced by John van den Brom.

The Dutchman's first European engagement with the club brought elimination from the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round by Qarabağ, but he subsequently steered Lech through three UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying ties – against Dinamo Batumi, Víkingur Reykjavík and F91 Dudelange – to earn the club a fifth participation in European group stage football. The Polish club beat group winners Villarreal 3-0 at home on Matchday 6 to reach nine points and take the runners-up spot ahead of Hapoel Beer-Sheva (0-0 h, 1-1 a) and Austria Wien (4-1 h, 1-1 a). Then came the knockout phase wins against Bodø/Glimt and Djurgården as Lech became Poland's first European quarter-finalists since Legia Warszawa reached the last eight of the 1995/96 UEFA Champions League.

This is the furthest Lech have ever gone in a major UEFA competition, their previous best performances those two round of 32 participations in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup and 2010/11 UEFA Europa League. The last Polish side to reach a European semi-final were Legia in the 1990/91 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Lech's win at Djurgården in the round of 16 was their first in nine European away games this season (D5 L3), the goalless draw at Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of the knockout play-off having stretched their winless run on the road in continental competition to 11 matches (D5 L6).

Lech have been defeated in all four previous UEFA ties in which they were beaten at home in the first leg, most recently by Basel in the third qualifying round of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League (1-3 h, 0-1 a).

Links and trivia 

Lech defender Bartosz Salamon has spent most of his career in Italy, playing for Brescia (2008–13), Foggia (2010/11 loan), Sampdoria (2013–14), Pescara (2014–17), SPAL (2017–21) and Frosinone (2020/21 loan).

Salamon played at SPAL with Fiorentina's Igor (2019/20) and Luca Ranieri (2020/21).

Two other members of Lech's squad have also played in Italy: Mikael Ishak (Crotone 2013/14 loan) and Radosław Murawski (Palermo 2017–19).

Lech are the only current domestic champions in the quarter-finals of either the UEFA Europa Conference League or the UEFA Europa League.

This is Lech's 20th European fixture of the season, the most of any team across all three club competitions in 2022/23.

Fiorentina are the highest scorers in this season's UEFA Europa Conference League, group stage to final, their 30 goals in 11 matches ten more than West Ham.

Fiorentina strikers Luka Jović and Cabral are the UEFA Europa Conference League's joint top scorers with six goals apiece, one more than seven other players including Lech duo Ishak and Michał Skóraś. Another Viola player, Christian Kouamé, also still leads the way in the assists charts with five – all registered during the group stage.

Lech are the only one of the eight UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finalists whose 2022/23 European campaign began in the UEFA Champions League.

Both clubs drew their most recent domestic league fixtures, Lech holding Legia Warszawa 2-2 away on Sunday before Fiorentina shared the points in a 1-1 draw at home to Atalanta on Monday evening – a result that extended the Viola's unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 matches (W11 D3).

The winners of this tie will face Basel or Nice in the semi-final.

Penalty shoot-outs

Fiorentina's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L3:
4-5 v Sachsenring Zwickau, 1975/76 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
1-3 v Boavista, 1986/87 UEFA Cup first round
3-1 v Atlético de Madrid, 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round
4-3 v Groningen, 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round
4-2 v Everton, 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 16
2-4 v Rangers, 2007/08 UEFA Cup semi-final

Lech's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
4-5 v Barcelona, 1988/89 European Cup Winners’ Cup second round
3-4 v Club Brugge, 2009/10 UEFA Europa League qualifying play-off
9-8 v İnter Baku, 2010/11 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round