Fiorentina celebrated reaching back-to-back Europa Conference League finals after a late penalty gave them a 4-3 aggregate win over Club Bruges.
Lucas Beltran tucked home an 85th-minute spot-kick after Brandon Mechele was judged to have fouled M’Bala Nzola.
Maxim de Cuyper had pulled Club Bruges level in the tie, after Fiorentina won the first leg 3-2 in Florence.
But the Italians earned a 1-1 draw in Belgium which sees them through to face Aston Villa or Olympiakos in the final.
Fiorentina will be aiming to go one better than in last season’s Conference League, when they were beaten in the final by West Ham.
Bruges went ahead in the semi-final second leg through left-back De Cuyper, who found himself in the centre-forward position to flick home a quick in-swinging cross from the left.
Fiorentina thereafter assumed control of the game despite a feverish home atmosphere at Jan Breydel Stadium, with the action even having to be paused early in the second half as the volume of flares set off meant the referee could not see the sidelines.
The Serie A side hit the woodwork three times in Bruges. Christian Kouame rattled the crossbar in the 35th minute with a powerful snap shot which bounced down and away with goalkeeper Simon Mignolet stranded.
Fiorentina then hit the frame of the goal twice in two second-half minutes – captain Cristiano Biraghi struck the bar with a left-footed free-kick from 20 yards, before Kouame suffered his second stroke of misfortune with a header.
Their deserved place in the final was eventually secured when Mechele caught Nzola with his knee as the Fiorentina substitute stooped for a header, Beltran tucking his penalty into the bottom left corner.
Bruges nearly forced extra time as Hans Vanaken’s late low shot was saved, after former Fulham defender Denis Odoi – who had already been substituted – was sent off from the bench after clashing with a Fiorentina player.
Line-ups
Club Bruges
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 22Mignolet
- 64Sabbe
- 4OrdóñezBooked at 43mins
- 44MecheleBooked at 82mins
- 55De Cuyper
- 10VetlesenBooked at 62minsSubstituted forZinckernagelat 70′minutes
- 6OdoiBooked at 90minsSubstituted forNusaat 86′minutes
- 8SkórasSubstituted forNielsenat 86′minutes
- 20Vanaken
- 9Jutglà
- 99Nascimento RodriguesBooked at 52mins
Substitutes
- 21Bursik
- 27Nielsen
- 29Jackers
- 32Nusa
- 39Balanta
- 58Spileers
- 62Homma
- 65Seys
- 68Talbi
- 77Zinckernagel
Fiorentina
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Terracciano
- 2Cordeiro Dos SantosBooked at 90mins
- 4MilenkovicBooked at 88mins
- 28Martínez
- 3Biraghi
- 9BeltránSubstituted forRanieriat 90′minutes
- 6ArthurSubstituted forDuncanat 71′minutes
- 38Mandragora
- 10González
- 20BelottiSubstituted forNzolaat 70′minutesBooked at 90mins
- 99Kouamé
Substitutes
- 8Lopez
- 11Ikoné
- 16Ranieri
- 18Nzola
- 19Infantino
- 22Faraoni
- 32Duncan
- 33Kayode
- 37Comuzzo
- 53Christensen
- 65Parisi
- 72Barák
Live Text
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Match ends, Club Brugge 1, Fiorentina 1.
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Second Half ends, Club Brugge 1, Fiorentina 1.
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Antonio Nusa (Club Brugge) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Nicolás González (Fiorentina).
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M’Bala Nzola (Fiorentina) is shown the yellow card.
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Philip Zinckernagel (Club Brugge) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Christian Kouamé (Fiorentina).
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Offside, Club Brugge. Thiago is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Casper Nielsen (Club Brugge) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
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Corner, Club Brugge. Conceded by Pietro Terracciano.
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Attempt saved. Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Second yellow card to Denis Odoi (Club Brugge).
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Dodô (Fiorentina) is shown the yellow card.
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Attempt missed. M’Bala Nzola (Fiorentina) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Christian Kouamé.
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Casper Nielsen (Club Brugge) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Christian Kouamé (Fiorentina).
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Foul by Casper Nielsen (Club Brugge).
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Alfred Duncan (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Fiorentina. Luca Ranieri replaces Lucas Beltrán.
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Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
