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Everton 2-0 Fiorentina. [Aet] 12th March 2008.
Aggregate score 2-2
Tie decided on penalties: Everton 2 – Fiorentina 4
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In the first leg of this European encounter Everton had slumped to a 2-0 defeat, but back at Goodison, they took apart Fiorentina in one of the best performances in David Moyes’ time as manager.
Exciting, dramatic, climactic, and cruel, this game saw Everton win 2-0, and take Fiorentina to penalties, only to lose. The twin pistons in this energetic and committed performance were Mikel Arteta and Andy Johnson. Arteta, with his Clark Kent hair and his Superman feet bristled with confidence, and Johnson was a tireless blue-collar worker; it should be no surprise that they scored Everton’s two goals.
The shootout was a depressing lesson in how unfair this sport can be. Reducing this battle from two legs to ten penalties was to reduce a 12 round fistfight to a one inch punch. Fiorentina, Italy’s fourth best team with a miserly defence, were completely outclassed, and at times reduced to a bickering, dishevelled unit until rescued from the requirement to play as a team by a penalty shoot-out. The performance though lives on, from the thrash metal pace, the hot blooded roars from the crowd, to the ice cool way Fiorentina stole victory in the shootout. It was a night where Everton were truly brilliant, and still managed to lose.
