Serie A: Fiorentina set to miss out on Champions League after defeat to Verona

Fiorentina's slender Champions League hopes were all but extinguished as Mounir Obbadi secured a late 1-0 win for Hellas Verona at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Monday.

The Viola, who remain nine points behind third-placed Roma having played their game in hand, controlled much of the match but failed to create enough chances, with Alessandro Diamanti's missed penalty in the second half proving crucial.

Verona goalkeeper Rafael guessed correctly to save the spot-kick low to his left and that proved a catalyst to spur the visitors on, with Obbadi nipping in to secure the win in the 90th minute from close range.

Verona are now seven points clear of the drop zone and up to 14th, with Serie A survival looking pretty secure.

Fiorentina might have had it all to play for in front of their own fans, but it was Verona who came closest to taking a shock early lead.

Bosko Jankovic was left totally unmarked from Leonardo Greco's corner after three minutes as Fiorentina's rearguard were pre-occupied with their lively former colleague Luca Toni.

The golden opportunity perhaps caught the Serbian unaware at the far post, though, and he could only cushion the free header tamely into the midriff of Fiorentina keeper Neto.

Goalmouth action was at a premium thereafter, with the Viola dominating possession but Andrea Mandorlini's disciplined side were quite happy to sit deep and make things difficult.

Out of necessity the hosts resorted to long-range shots and almost had some joy, with Diamanti and Andrea Lazzari both seeing drives from distance deflected wide off Verona midfielder Jacopo Sala.

Diamanti could have considered himself unfortunate that time, but he wasted a free-kick opportunity from just outside the area around the half-hour mark. The former West Ham midfielder ballooned the effort high and wide.

Mandorlini's side showed more endeavour on the counter-attack after the interval, but this added danger failed to provide any more openings for the hosts at the other end.

So when the referee pointed to the spot in the 65th minute for a foul on Alberto Gilardino by Verona keeper Rafael it was met with loud cheers of relief from the Viola faithful.

It was a soft backwards header from Jankovic that created the danger, forcing Rafael to race out and challenge the Viola forward. The Verona keeper was perhaps fortunate Gilardino was angling his run away from goal, meaning the card that came out of the referee's pocket was yellow, not red.

Up stepped Diamanti, but Rafael got down brilliantly to his left to deny the 31-year-old.

Verona continued to grow in stature as Fiorentina ran out of ideas and they deservedly took a valuable three points when Obbadi was on hand to toe-poke home when Neto failed to gather Lazaros Christodoulopoulos' driven effort in the final minute.

nguon: skysports

Fiorentina use three early strikes to stun Roma

Brilliant Fiorentina stunned Roma with an early goal blitz to seal their spot in the Europa League quarterfinals at the expense of their Italian rivals.

Roma might have held a narrow advantage after drawing the first leg 1-1 in Florence but any hopes of progressing were sunk inside 21 minutes on Thursday as Gonzalo Rodriguez, Marcos Alonso and Jose Maria Basanta all netted for Fiorentina.

The visitors might have extended their lead further in the second half, Mohamed Salah hitting the woodwork twice, but in the end the 3-0 scoreline was more than enough to send them through as sorry Roma finished with 10 men following Adem Ljajic's late dismissal.

Roma have lost their way somewhat over the last month and their disappointing form caught up with them in emphatic fashion early on in this match.

The influential Salah had already fired a warning shot over the bar when Fiorentina took the lead through Rodriguez's eight-minute penalty after Jose Holebas' clumsy challenge on Matias Fernandez.

Rodriguez sent Lukasz Skorupski the wrong way from the spot and then, after being ordered to re-take the penalty, did exactly the same going the other way.

Then, in the 18th minute, came arguably the key incident of the tie as Alonso took advantage of a glaring mistake by Skorupski to give Fiorentina a second away goal.

In attempting to try and keep an errant back-header in play, Skorupski succeeded only in palming the ball back into the path of Alonso, who nicked it away and slotted into an empty net.

If that was not bad enough for the capital club, worse was to follow as more poor defending allowed Fiorentina to make it 3-0 three minutes later as Basanta was left unmarked to power home a header from Fernandez's corner.

With a quarter-final berth fast disappearing, Rome tried to grab a lifeline and Ljajic drew a parry out of Murara Neto before Miralem Pjanic's near-post header from a corner was cleared off the line by Borja Valero.

Roma could not find the foothold they needed before the break though, and they could easily have been further behind inside 12 second-half minutes.

Salah did all the hard work as he stormed into the area only to curl against the crossbar, before the on-loan Chelsea winger set up Khouma El Babacar for a clear shot that Skorupski did well to turn behind.

Fernandez also drew a parry out of Skorupski as Fiorentina continued to breach the struggling Roma defence almost at will.

Roma tried to rally again, Gervinho rounding Neto only to be denied by a crucial sliding tackle, while Alessandro Florenzi was unfortunate to see his acrobatic effort go straight at the Fiorentina goalkeeper.

But they never really looked like getting back into and it could have been even worse for them as Salah curled a 20-yarder against the post before Ljajic picked up a second yellow late on.

Rudi Garcia questions Roma players' character after Europa League loss

Roma manager Rudi Garcia said he was "mortified" and questioned his players' character after his side crashed out of the Europa League with a 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina on Thursday.

A late sending-off for Adem Ljajic for a second yellow card capped a dispiriting night which saw about a hundred of the club's "ultras" leave the Stadio Olimpico after 30 minutes, by which time Roma had conceded three times in a 13-minute span.Garcia said Roma would refocus on finishing second in Serie A, where they have fallen 14 points behind leaders Juventus, and only lead third-placed Lazio by a point.

"It was an unexpected defeat," Garcia told Mediaset Premium. "Fiorentina deserve compliments for making the most of our gifts to them, but I am mortified. We had the right desire at the start, but paid a heavy price for individual errors."

"Now we have to salvage the season with second place. If we qualify for the Champions League, it will be an acceptable campaign.

"There are 11 battles remaining in Serie A. It's just the staff and the players. I will not let go for a second, we have to lift our heads and get back up.

"This is what I expect from my players. I spoke to them after the game, telling them that anyone with pride and character will follow me. If anyone is weak, then they do not interest me."

Roma still have not won a game at home after 90 minutes since November, and after Thursday's defeat captain Francesco Totti, goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis and midfielder Danielle de Rossi led the rest of the team's players over to talk to fans after match.

Totti spoke for a long while with the head of the ultras.

Garcia said the pressure of performing at home seems to have gotten to some of his players.

"I talk about character because some players seem to be afraid of playing at the Olimpico," the manager said. "Our stadium must get back to being a pleasant venue for us.

"In this moment of difficulty that's the message I want to give to the team. The leader must set the example and I remain motivated.

"The season can still end well. It's not possible for this Roma to be real. We need more character."

Fiorentina's Giuseppe Rossi says he won't rush return from knee surgery

Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi says he will not rush his return from his latest knee surgery.

Rossi has been sidelined since undergoing a fourth operation on his troublesome right knee at the beginning of September.

On Thursday, the American-born forward said, "I have to respect all the timetables, without being in a hurry. We are working every day, we're nearly there, but I will return the day my knee tells me so.

"I really want to bring joy to the Fiorentina fans, because they deserve it.

"They've always supported me, even when I've not been playing. I've suffered various injuries, but always come out stronger thanks to my family."

Rossi tore his right anterior cruciate ligament during a game for Villarreal against Real Madrid in October 2011 and needed three operations before returning in May 2013 with Fiorentina.

He also missed four months of last season with a sprained ligament, and the striker was left out of Italy's World Cup squad because of that injury.

But the 28-year-old said a return to the Azzurri remains on his radar

"Italy? The national team is always a goal for me," he said.

nguon: espnfc

Napoli 3-0 Fiorentina

Napoli shrugged off the disappointment of a disallowed ghost goal to push on and beat Fiorentina 3-0 to retake fourth place in the Serie A table.

The Azzurri had tumbled to sixth on the back of five games without a win but returned to the race for a Champions League place when Dries Mertens opened the scoring midway through the first half.

Gonzalo Higuain's thunderous drive appeared to cross the line before the break, only for the officials to rule otherwise, meaning Marek Hamsik and Jose Callejon had to make the points safe.

Napoli would end the first half with a one-goal advantage but boasted a strong argument they should have been 2-0 up.

After 10 minutes Mertens tried to beat Neto with a cross-cum-shot and Manolo Gabbiadini was soon knocking with only the fast reactions of defender Stefan Savic keeping the young Italian at bay.

Mertens made the breakthrough on 23 minutes. The Belgian winger skipped towards the D from the left wing and, when it looked like he might pass sideways, he instead pinged the ball home.

Napoli upped the pressure after taking the lead and were celebrating again, briefly, on 35 minutes.

Higuain wheeled away after watching his powerful effort clatter the crossbar, bounce over the goal-line then come back straight out, but referee Antonio Damato was unmoved.

The strike looked good but, despite Napoli's protests, they were restricted to 1-0 come half-time.

Mariano Andujar had to look lively to keep Borja Valero out when play resumed, but the Fiorentina midfielder was ruled offside anyway.

Napoli bit back with Gabbiadini letting rip at the end of a swift counter-attack - his effort shaved paint off a post - and another rapid raid almost saw Higuain notch.

The Argentinian had a gilt-edged opportunity when Savic slipped to allow him space in front of Neto, but he took too long and ran out of time to finish.

Hamsik spared his team-mate's blushes and made up for the ghost goal by extending Napoli's lead in the 71st minute.

Served in splendid fashion by Callejon, the Slovakian beat Neto with a cool right-footed touch.

Fiorentina had been second-best throughout and let their heads drop completely in the final moments.

That allowed Callejon plenty of room to receive Lorenzo Insigne's pass and drive it beyond Neto with only one minute remaining at the Stadio San Paolo.

Fiorentina still targeting Europe despite recent lopsided defeats

Alarm bells are ringing at Fiorentina following a second significant defeat in the space of several days.

Napoli beat Vincenzo Montella's side 3-0 on Sunday in Serie A, a result that followed Fiorentina's home loss to Juventus by the same scoreline five days earlier in the second leg of a Coppa Italia semifinal.

"This was an ugly defeat," Montella told Sky Sport Italia. "We weren't incisive, didn't show character, heart or soul, so that worries me.

"We could have conceded a lot more than three, as we lost all logic in some of our defending.

"Aside from what people might think, the race for European places is still wide open."

The result dropped Fiorentina to fifth place, eight points adrift of Roma, who are third, with eight games remaining.

The top three teams in Italy's top flight qualify for Champions League football next season.

Montella believes the 3-0 Coppa Italia semifinal home defeat to Juve had a major effect on his players.

"We have to find an explanation, but it's not a physical issue," he said. "It's probably a psychological one, because probably the midweek defeat really hit our confidence hard.

"We didn't expect to lose so heavily to Juventus and that also is a concern."

Fiorentina, who had been in excellent form before their game against Juve, did suffer a heavy setback on March 9 against Lazio.

However, Montella said: "The 4-0 defeat to Lazio came at the end of a long run of fixtures and they were on exceptional form.

"What does worry me is their mental state, as over the last five or six days I've seen a different team.

"I don't like this team and it's up to me to give them a different motivation and spur them on to change tack."

Fiorentina travel to Ukraine on Thursday to face Dynamo Kiev in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

The Viola then return to Serie A action at home to Hellas Verona on April 20.

Khouma Babacar's stoppage-time equaliser gives Fiorentina draw in Kiev

Substitute Khouma Babacar's goal in stoppage-time gave Fiorentina a 1-1 draw and a crucial away goal in their Europa League quarter-final first leg against Dynamo Kiev.

The Italian side had started the game strongly, but were stung by Jeremain Lens' deflected opener before half-time and looked to have faded.

The game tailed off in the second half -- until the 92nd minute, when Babacar's intervention dramatically altered the momentum of the tie.

After a couple of wayward long-range shots, Fiorentina had the first clear chance when Joaquin had a shot blocked by the sprawling Yevhen Khacheridi and, instead of chasing the rebound, appealed for handball and a penalty which was not forthcoming.

Mario Gomez failed with two attempts to convert Mohamed Salah's cut-back, eventually putting the ball into the side netting from a prohibitive angle.

Dynamo's Andriy Yarmolenko and Jeremain Lens saw shots blocked by Stefan Savic but Salah tested Olexandr Shovkovskiy at the other end.

Matias Fernandez curled a low shot just wide after lovely interplay with Joaquin and Gomez as the Italian side continued to dominate.

But Savic had to make a good tackle to prevent Lukasz Teodorczyk threatening Neto's goal and the breakthrough then came from Lens.

The Netherlands winger cut inside onto his favoured right foot and his 20-yard shot looped off the heel of Fernandez and over the helpless Neto.

Aleksandar Dragovic brought down Borja Valero to collect a booking which will rule him out of the second leg. Fernandez's free-kick was deflected over.

Sergiy Rybalka fired wide for Dynamo early in the second half but Teodorczyk's determined run into the box was halted by Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Shovkovskiy misjudged two crosses in succession and was fortunate Valero was penalised after tangling with Domagoj Vida as he attempted to convert.

Fernandez's low drive was blocked by the sliding Rybalko and Fiorentina went close to an equaliser when Valero headed Fernandez's cross against the post.

They immediately introduced Babacar for Gomez to pep up their attack and it proved an inspired decision when, in stoppage time, Khacheridi headed Fernandez's cross straight up in the air and the Senegal international remained 

alert to hook the ball over his head and into the net.

Babacar then volleyed away Younes Belhanda's free-kick to snuff out the chance of a last-gasp Kiev goal.

Hellas Verona extinguish Fiorentina's slim Champions League hopes

Fiorentina's faint Champions League hopes were all but extinguished as Mounir Obbadi secured a late 1-0 win for Hellas Verona at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Monday.

The Viola, who remain nine points behind third-placed Roma having played their game in hand, controlled much of the match but failed to create enough chances, with Alessandro Diamanti's missed penalty in the second half proving crucial.

Verona goalkeeper Rafael guessed correctly to save the spot-kick low to his left and that proved a catalyst to spur the visitors on, with Obbadi nipping in to secure the win in the 90th minute from close range.

Verona are now seven points clear of the drop zone and up to 14th, with Serie A survival looking pretty secure.

Fiorentina might have had it all to play for in front of their own fans, but it was Verona who came closest to taking a shock early lead.

Bosko Jankovic was left totally unmarked from Leonardo Greco's corner after three minutes as Fiorentina's rearguard were pre-occupied with their lively former colleague Luca Toni.

The golden opportunity perhaps caught the Serbian unaware at the far post, though, and he could only cushion the free header tamely into the midriff of Fiorentina keeper Neto.

Goalmouth action was at a premium thereafter, with the Viola dominating possession but Andrea Mandorlini's disciplined side were quite happy to sit deep and make things difficult.

Out of necessity the hosts resorted to long-range shots and almost had some joy, with Diamanti and Andrea Lazzari both seeing drives from distance deflected wide off Verona midfielder Jacopo Sala.

Diamanti could have considered himself unfortunate that time, but he wasted a free-kick opportunity from just outside the area around the half-hour mark. The former West Ham midfielder ballooned the effort high and wide.

Mandorlini's side showed more endeavour on the counter-attack after the interval, but this added danger failed to provide any more openings for the hosts at the other end.

So when the referee pointed to the spot in the 65th minute for a foul on Alberto Gilardino by Verona keeper Rafael it was met with loud cheers of relief from the Viola faithful.

It was a soft backwards header from Jankovic that created the danger, forcing Rafael to race out and challenge the Viola forward. The Verona keeper was perhaps fortunate Gilardino was angling his run away from goal, meaning the card that came out of the referee's pocket was yellow, not red.

Up stepped Diamanti, but Rafael got down brilliantly to his left to deny the 31-year-old.

Verona continued to grow in stature as Fiorentina ran out of ideas and they deservedly took a valuable three points when Obbadi was on hand to toe-poke home when Neto failed to gather Lazaros Christodoulopoulos' driven effort in the final minute.