Basel ousted Fiorentina 2-1 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday night in Group I of the Europa League.
Nikola Kalinic grabbed the game’s opening goal thanks to poor goalkeeping from Tomas Vaclik before Basel’s Birkir Bjarnason leveled the game with a well-hit strike. Mohamed Elneny won the game for the away team with a sensational first-time hit.
In a match that saw Paulo Sousa facing his former club in the shape of Basel, the now Viola coach got the start he would have dreamt of, when Kalinic bundled home a scrappy effort following a Facundo Roncaglia through-ball after just five minutes.
The shakiness of the Basel back-line continued mid-way through the first-half, this time defender Daniel Hoegh accidentally headed over Vaclik but the goalkeeper managed to grab the ball before it bobbled into the net.
Fiorentina goalkeeper Luigi Sepe was soon forced into a save of his own, palming a way a strike from Breel Embolo, following a mazy run from the 18-year-old.
The second-half began just as Fiorentina started the first, but this time the post came to Basel’s rescue, denying a first goal in Italy for Jakub Blaszczykowski.
The game took a turn after the hour mark, with Viola captain Gonzalo Rodriguez earning a straight red for a late tackle on Embolo.
It wouldn’t take long for Basel to capitalise, with Bjarnason seeing his shot nestle in the far corner after striking the inside of the post and rolling in to level proceedings.
The Italians soon fell apart, with Elneny scoring an absolute beauty of a goal with ten minutes remaining, hitting a first-time strike from 25 yards that flew into the top corner.
The result meant Fiorentina began life back in Europe on a disappointing note, having made last season’s semi-finals.
