Fiorentina beat Hellas Verona 2-1 at the Stadio Bentegodi on a chilly Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
Gonzalo Rodriguez opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half before Nico Lopez equalised for the Gialloblu, only for Guillermo Cuadrado to score the decisive goal midway through the second half.
Lopez had a good sight of goal after Luca Toni drove the ball forward before slipping it to the Uruguayan who fired wide in the fifth minute as the match got off to a quick start.
Cuadrado tested Rafael in the 15th minute but with a low shot but Verona’s Brazilian goalkeeper saved at the near post with his feet at the expense of a corner.
The Viola took the lead from the subsequent set-piece after Gonzalo Rodriguez tapped in from the close range after Mati Fernandez’s delivery was nodded on at the front post.
Lopez had a chance to equalise almost immediately but the attacker was crowded out after cutting back onto his left foot.
The Viola tested Hellas again from a corner in the 19th minute after Rodriguez won a header at the near post but Rafael saved to keep the deficit at one with Fiorentina starting to exert pressure.
Marcos Alonso stung Rafael’s palms in the 21st minute with a powerful low shot but it was too central to beat the Gialloblu’s goalkeeper.
Mario Gomez hit the bar with a shot from a narrow angle in the 27th minute after Evangelos Moras’s dallying on the ball allowed Cuadrado to win possession high up the pitch and play in the German striker.
Toni hit the bar in the 33rd minute after doing well to get on the end of an Emil Hallfredsson cross and stab it at goal as it bounced,
Lopez equalised in the 38th minute after Toni slipped in the Uruguayan striker who had the pace to get to the ball ahead of the onrushing Neto and poke it into empty net from outside the area.
Verona defended a corner in the last minute of the first half to send the sides into the break with the score level at 1-1.
Fiorentina looked the slightly better side after the restart and had a series of half-chances but Toni and Lopez continued to look dangerous on the break for Verona.
Marcos Alonso missed the Gigliati’s best chance best chance in the 57th minute during a sustained period of pressure after the ball fell kindly to him inside the box only for him to blast wide on the half-volley.
Cuadrado restored Fiorentina’s lead in the 61st minute after getting onto the end of an Alonso cross from the left wing ahead of his marker Moras and the Colombian made no mistake with the simple task of guiding it home with a sidefoot volley from point blank range.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis came close to scoring a spectacular goal in the 66th minute with a long shot that flew narrowly past Neto’s far post.
Hellas had a glorious chance in the 72nd minute after substitute Lazaros Christodoulopoulos was left with a free header but the Greek nodded over.
Hellas came close with four minutes left of regular time after a Rafa Marquez cross was deflected up onto the Fiorentina bar and the visitors were able to hold the home side at bay for the win .
