Fiorentina defeated Sassuolo 3-1 at the Mapei Stadium on Saturday night.
Mohamed Salah put La Viola ahead in his first full debut, before Khouma Babacar scored two goals to widen the gap; Sassuolo were able to pull one back via Domenico Berardi but it only proved to be a consolation goal.
New signing Salah started the game off brightly when he darted down the left hand side and sent a low cross into the box, but Andrea Consigli was equal to it.
The Egyptian was once again at the centre of trouble, this time squaring the ball off to Matias Fernandez who got a shot away, but Consigli was able to save it.
Fiorentina came agonsingly close to taking the lead; Marcos Alonso’s left-footed shot was spilled by the Sassuolo goalkeeper, before Consigli made up for his error by pulling off an emphatic save to deny Khouma Babacar from close range.
Salah gave La Viola the lead soon after when he latched onto Babacar’s backheel flick to slot it into the Sassuolo net, thus making it 1-0.
Babacar and Salah switched roles in the second goal which came only two minutes later; the Egyptian found the former who made no mistake with the finish.
Domenico Berardi was inches away from scoring a wonder goal that would’ve put the Neroverdi back in the game; the youngster received the ball on the edge of the box before unleashing a great half-volley that hit the post.
Jasmin Kurtic could’ve made it 3-0 near the half-hour mark, but his strike was saved by Consigli.
However, the Gigliati found their third only minutes later when Babacar broke the offside trap and finished well past Consigli.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s men pulled a goal back through Berardi with approximately 20 minutes remaining, nodding past Ciprian Tatarusanu to make it 3-1.
Alessandro Diamanti could have made it two goals in two games when he unleashed a dipping strike, forcing Consigli to tip it over the bar.
Berardi had the chance to grab a goal late in the game, but his volley went well over the woodwork.
