Late Gudmundsson penalty sees Fiorentina edge Rakow in first leg of last-16 tie

[p]A strong start would always be crucial for either side in this round of 16 first-leg tie, but in a hint of events to come, the visitors had the first real sighting of the game after just three minutes, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pienko-tomasz/foGzi0rb/"]Tomasz Pienko[/a] tip-toed through the penalty area and prodded towards goal, but saw his tame shot repelled by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/christensen-oliver/6s2DQqHL/"]Oliver Christensen[/a] at the near post.[/p][p]That would be the first and last time Rakow truly threatened in the first half as the hosts gained a foothold, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zych-oliwier/MPCKX5ye/"]Oliwier Zych[/a] tipping [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gosens-robin/r1EFsksF/"]Robin Gosen[/a]’s flick over the bar.[/p][p]The German international also placed a header straight at the Aston Villa loanee, meaning that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fazzini-jacopo/b3uylvFN/"]Jacopo Fazzini[/a] had the best chance of the half just before the half-hour mark, but he volleyed over the bar from 12 yards after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/parisi-fabiano/Ghafo5hk/"]Fabiano Parisi[/a]’s mazy run and cross. Parisi himself then tested Zych from long range in first-half stoppage time.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="c23af12f-3e06-413c-8a08-1a3c3d5cdd25" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="57642a44-29e2-4a95-ad8f-17d062f40243" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brunes-jonatan/t02ZMlBB/"]Jonatan Brunes[/a] almost made the hosts pay for those spurned chances within seconds of the restart, but the Norwegian forward lost his balance and skewed his shot wide from inside the box.[/p][p][b]That was merely a warning shot for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fiorentina/Q3A3IbXH/"]La Viola[/a], though, as Brunes latched on to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/makuch-patryk/bmXn8ftP/"]Patryk Makuch[/a] flick-on and buried clinically past Christensen on the hour mark. [/b][/p][p]However, Fiorentina did not lick their wounds and were level less than two minutes later thanks to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ndour-cher/8QRFNbb8/"]Cher Ndour[/a].[/p][p][b]The big French midfielder brought a bit of head tennis to an emphatic end, producing a thumping finish into the top corner from the edge of the box. [/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piccoli-roberto/CK8QgVjh/"]Roberto Piccoli[/a] then went on a one-man mission to give his side a vital lead, but after robbing a Rakow defender, he ended his solo effort by crashing a shot off the crossbar. [/p][embed guid="f17a6ece-e0ce-4721-9477-bb55e0689d88" url="https://x.com/ACFFiorentinaEN/status/2032215764795568473" social-type="twitter" /][p]Paolo Vanoli’s men were gifted an opportunity to take a lead into the second leg in Poland next week when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ameyaw-michael/2gPlXwlO/"]Michael Ameyaw[/a] clearly handled Dodo’s cross, but questions remained as to whether the offence was outside the area.[/p][p][b]However, VAR confirmed the Rakow defender was just inside the box, meaning that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gudmundsson-albert/bHCOu1Tl/"]Albert Gudmundsson[/a] was able to coolly roll his penalty into the bottom corner to secure the narrowest of first-leg advantages for La Viola.[/b][/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ndour-cher/8QRFNbb8/"]Cher Ndour[/a] (Fiorentina)[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="ae493139-d7be-4868-8d5b-051726a2417d" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="4f48bbe3-74d8-45eb-ba6c-da2978c63f9d" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/fiorentina-Q3A3IbXH/rakow-SQOrbYim/summary/stats/?mid=bTxPkk14"]Catch up on all the match stats here.[/a][/b][/p]