Fiorentina managed to fend off a plucky Palermo by a score of 3-2, securing the Viola a place in the Europa League with only one match remaining in the Serie A season.
Josip Ilicic marked his return to the Stadio Renzo Barbera with a stunning strike to open the scoring, only for Mato Jajalo to equalize soon after.
Alberto Gilardino and Luca Rigoni traded goals for both sides, only for Marcos Alonso to decide proceedings with a great finish late in the second half to secure a key victory for the Viola despite finishing the match with 10 men after Jasmin Kurtic’s sending off.
The first chance of the match would fall to the away side as Ilicic found some space before the Slovenian unleashed a patented left footed strike that skimmed the post.
Moments later, Gonzalo Rodriguez beat teammate Alberto Gilardino to a Manuel Pasqual cross only to see his deflected effort go wide of the bar and out for a corner.
The Viola pressure would pay off in the 23rd minute thanks to a stunning effort from dangerman Ilicic. The 27-year-old unleashed a fierce left footed strike from outside the area which found the top corner, leaving Stefano Sorrentino with no chance as the former Rosanero man received a deserved applause from the Renzo Barbera faithful.
The advantage would be short lived as a poor clearance by the Fiorentina defence fell to Jajalo, allowing the Croatian to volley home and level the score at 1-1.
Goals continued to fly and the Viola once again took the lead in the 33rd minute with Gilardino expertly deflecting Mati Fernandez’s strike to restore Fiorentina’s advantage at 2-1.
The Viola would begin the second half in impressive fashion as Joaquin’s shot from a dangerous position was only just deflected out for a corner by Jajalo.
Joaquin should have made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute as he managed to get around an onrushing Sorrentino, however the Palermo defence managed to recover and clear away the danger.
Neto would finally be called into action soon after, denying an Andrea Belotti that looked certain for the back of the net.
The Brazilian could do nothing to prevent Palermo’s equalizer in the 69th minute however, as Rigoni was first to mop-up after the Fiorentina defenders failed to clear the ball from the penalty area after a short Rosanero corner.
After Joaquin saw yet another effort denied, this time by a diving Sorrentino, the Viola would once again retake the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Ilicic’s free kick would be flicked on by Gilardino before falling to Alonso, who sent a well taken strike into the back of the net to give Fiorentina the 3-2 advantage.
Franco Vazquez nearly equalized with minutes remaining after firing a great angled drive, only for an alert and reactive Neto to preserve the scoreline.
Despite a late Kurtic red card deep into injury time, the Viola would go home with a vital three points allowing them to a secure a place in next season’s Europa League.
