Fiorentina has once again reached the Europa Conference League finals, making it their back-to-back appearances in the finals.
They were able to achieve this feat 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.
Hans Vanaken 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 either 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 2-1 in the final by West Ham.
Bruges went ahead in the semi-final second leg, tie through attacking midfielder Hans Vanaken, who found himself in the centre-forward position to flick home a quick in-swinging cross from the left.
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Fiorentina, thereafter, assumed control of the game despite a feverish home atmosphere at Jan Breydel Stadium in Belgium. This is with the action paused early in the second half as the volume of flares set off meant the referee could not see the sidelines.
It would later be resumed where the Serie A side hit the woodwork three times in Bruges. Christian Kouame and captain Cristiano Biraghi struck the bar with Biraghi watching his left-footed free-kick from 20 yards hitting the cross bar, before Kouame would again 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, with Beltran tucking his penalty into the bottom left corner.
