Fiorentina recorded a slim win against ten-man Spezia to return to winning ways in the Italian Serie A.
All thanks to Pietro Terracciano, who made some fantastic saves as Viola eventually grabbed a last-gasp win away from home.
Viola went into the game on the back of a controversial 4-3 defeat to Inter. They also defeated Istanbul Basaksehir in the Conference League on Thursday evening.
Both sides went into the game having just one point from their last four Serie A games. So, it was an important game for both teams.
The guests made a tough start as Pietro Terracciano made a huge save from point-blank range on Emmanuel Gyasi within 75 seconds. The goalie moments later was again forced to deny the striker one-on-one.
Despite not having a strong start, Viola took the lead against the run of play. Nikola Milenkovic scored from a glancing header on Cristiano Biraghi’s corner.
Fiorentina almost scored the second through Luka Jovic. The striker thumped the base of the upright on a Jonathan Ikone assist.
Terracciano was again called into action, and he responded with another desperate flying fingertip save on the M’Bala Nzola header from a Medhi Bourabia free kick.
After a tense period that produced many cards, fouls, and complaints, Spezia had a triple opportunity with Gyasi, and Nzola shots charged down. Kevin Agudelo also stung Terracciano’s gloves at the near post.
The hosts eventually restored parity deservedly as Agudelo’s cross was knocked down by Ethan Ampadu for Nzola to fire in from point-blank range.
Spezia suffered a setback in the game. They were pushing for the winner as they were reduced to 10 men. After a VAR intervention, a straight red card rather than a yellow was issued to Dimitrios Nikolaou for catching Arthur Cabral on the shin.
Fiorentina eventually got the winner with a chaotic last-minute move. After Kouame pulled back for Riccardo Saponara, whose shot took a double deflection before the Bartlomiej Dragowski saves, Cabral drilled the rebound through Kiwior’s legs to secure maximum points for the hosts.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
