Hellas Verona with a comfortable 2-0 win at the Stadio Bentegodi on Wednesday evening, as they continued their strong start to the Serie A season.
Nikola Kalinic added La Viola’s second on the night after Rafael Marquez put through his own goal in calamitous fashion to give the visitors the lead.
Paulo Sousa’s men started the game on the front foot, dominating possession with both Borja Valero and Matias Vecino dictating play from the midfield.
Within the first 15 minutes, Fiorentina had two opportunities to go in the lead, as Giuseppe Rossi fired wide from the edge of the box while Vecino’s audacious attempt from distance went over the bar.
Nikola Kalinic had an opportunity to add another goal to his tally but his shot from close range went just wide of the post. However, it was only two minutes later that Fiorentina took the lead through a Rafael Marquez own goal, as confusion in the box after a teasing Manuel Pasqual cross led to the ball rolling into the back of the net.
Verona had a chance of their own to come back to level terms, but Bosko Jankovic’s improvised overhead effort went just wide of Ciprian Tatarusanu’s goal.
Verona’s attempts to get the equalizer before half-time couldn’t yield the required as two corners went in vain.
Eight minutes into the second half, Fiorentina doubled the advantage after Guiseppe Rossi’s grounded cross from the left-hand side of the box, found Nikola Kalinic unmarked, who scored easily from close range into an open goal.
The second goal led to the game becoming slow and more midfield dominated than before. Fouls weren’t a rarity and making runs in behind the defense become tough, as offsides for both teams became a regular feature.
Chances were few and far between for both as the game wore on.
The defeat left Verona winless since the start of the campaign, keeping them at the 19th spot, tied on points with bottom club Carpi.
For Fiorentina, the win meant that the La Viola strengthened their position within the top four places, keeping them at 4th in the table.
