Fiorentina suffered a 2-1 defeat in Serie A at the Hellas Verona pitch. The team thus remains in eighth place.
With an eye on next Wednesday's return match in the Conference League, coach Italiano threw as many as ten other players into the starting lineup. Just before the end of the first quarter of an hour, Verona was awarded a penalty because goalkeeper Christensen brought down Noslin in the box. Lazovic popped the ball hard into the goal. Immediately after, it was almost 2-0 but Bonazzoli deviated a cross wide of the goal. Fiorentina responded through Barak: his header was tapped over goal by goalkeeper Montipo. Castrovilli also saw his shot hit the post. Fiorentina continued to apply pressure, but again Montipo was well placed. He also kept Ikoné from scoring the equalizer. Just before halftime, Fiorentina scored. After an assist from Nzola, Castrovilli hit the ball hard against the ropes.
On the hour, Hellas Verona climbed back into the lead through a nice goal by Noslin. He kicked a dropped ball with a volley past Christensen. Fiorentina went in search of the equalizer, but Nzola kicked another beckoning chance over the goal. Otherwise, the second half had few goal chances to offer. Even substitutions by established players did not help. It remained exciting until the end, but Hellas Verona kept the points at home.
In the standings, Fiorentina remains in eighth place. With one more game played, it is seven points behind Atalanta, which is currently sixth and thus occupies the last European spot. (EV)
Fiorentina: Christensen, Parisi, Ranieri, Milenkovic, Faraoni (84' Belotti), Lopez (70' Mandragora), Duncan (62' Bonaventura), Castrovilli (63' Kouamé), Barak, Ikoné (69' Beltran), Nzola.
Goals: 13' Lazovic (penalty, 1-0), 42' Castrovilli (1-1), 58' Noslin (2-1).