Fiorentina usurped a plucky Genoa side 3-2 at the Stadio Franchi in Serie A on Sunday afternoon.
Alberto Aquilani gave Fiorentina the lead in the first half. A goal from Daniele Portanova gave Genoa hope. A close range tap in from Juan Guillermo Cuadrado once again gave Fiorentina the lead, only for Luca Antonelli to equalize for La Grifone. But a dismissal for Genoa swayed the game in La Viola’s favour, and an own goal from Mattia Cassani sealed three points for Fiorentina.
The first real chance of the game came after eight minutes. It fell to Fiorentina’s Borja Valero at the edge of the box, who’s shot was blocked by Andreas Granqvist.
The away side had a rare chance at goal in the first half in the 10th minute when Andrea Bertolacci skied his shot after a series of careless passes from Fiorentina in their own half.
It wasn’t long until Fiorentina’s possession of the ball came in to use, as Fiorentina’s Manuel Pasqual provided a dangerous cross into the box, only for Alberto Aquilani to head it straight into keeper Manuel Pasqual’s hands.
Club top-scorer Stevan Jovetic turned provider as he found Adem Ljajic with a through ball halfway through the first half. A costly miss by the Serbian, who was one on one with the goalkeeper, hit it wide with his touch.
It was in the 33rd minute, that La Viola broke the deadlock. An impressive run by Adem Ljajic, which saw him skip past an Il Grifone defender, and gift it to Alberto Aquilani who tapped it home from close range.
The final chance of the half unsurprisingly fell to Fiorentina, as David Pizarro’s optimistic shot shortly after a corner deflected and hit the crossbar, for it to be headed out to safety by the defence.
Shortly after the resume, it was Genoa who looked the more lively. The decision to bring Bosko Jankovic and Cristóbal Jorquera on at half time proved imminent, as Cristóbal Jorquera managed a shot, though it went over.
As the hour mark approached, Genoa registered their first shot, and goal of the game. Cristóbal Jorquera’s cross in from a corner met the head of Daniele Portanova, who equalized for La Grifone.
However, Genoa’s hard work went unpaid in the 62nd minute when Juan Guillermo Cuadrado’s left footed shot from close range gave La Viola the lead.
That was until Luca Antonelli kept the dream alive in the 69th minute when a headed pass from Bosko Jankovic resulted in a moment of sleep from the Fiorentina defence, and another equalizer for La Grifone.
The odds went against Genoa in the final 15 minutes, as Andrea Bertolacci was sent off having collected a second yellow. Within a minute of the dismissal, a corner conceded turned into an own goal from substitute Mattia Cassani, and made another Genoa recovery look as unlikely as ever.
With the extra man advantage, Fiorentina looked to kill the game off with Stefan Savic missing a header from close range, and Matias Fernandez’s shot saved, but could not convert.
