Fiorentina beat Champions League holders Barcelona 2-1 in the International Champions Cup at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
In a game which produced some brilliant attacking football, two quick-fire goals from Federico Bernardeschi proved enough for Fiorentina to see off the Spanish giants, despite pulling one back through Luis Suarez.
Fiorentina stunned the visitors within five minutes, as some lovely footwork from Joaquin and a Borja Valero nutmeg on Sergio Busquets culminated in a perfect header by youngster Bernardeschi.
Barcelona looked to get back into the game immediately through smart play by Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique, however, the Croatian international could only fire low and weakly in Ciprian Tatarusanu’s outstretched arms.
The Spanish side continued to push forward and it took a fantastic block from defender Gonzalo Rodriguez to deny Rakitic once again.
Despite Barca’s high pressing it was Fiorentina who would find themselves on the score-sheet once again, as Milan Badelj robbed the ball in the middle of the field and after some smart footwork the 26-year-old Croatian lobbed the ball up-field to Joaquin, who duly squared a pass across goal to the on-rushing Bernardeschi for his second goal.
This, however, didn’t deter the Catalan giants as they continued to press the Fiorentina defence.
Minutes later, the ever-present Rakitic chipped a lovely pass into the six yard box, which was brought down perfectly by Luis Suarez who accordingly slotted the ball past Tatarusanu.
The game became a much more cagey affair, with Pedro, Suarez and Khouma Babacar all missing chances to give their respective sides another goal.
The second half took a similar pattern as that of the first 45 minutes, with both sides taking turns at charging down on goal.
Fiorentina’s Giuseppe Rossi played his first game at the Artemio Franchi since his injury setback last year, and despite a bright performance he was unable to add to the score-line.
As the game progressed more of both side’s youngsters were introduced, but Fiorentina held on for the win.
