Fiorentina’s fight to stay in Serie A continues

FLORENCE, ITALY – Atalanta beat Fiorentina 2-0 this afternoon at the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia in Bergamo. Goals from German Denis in the 11th minute and Giacomo Bonaventura in the 51st gave the hosts all three points, while Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic had a second-half penalty saved by Andrea Consigli.

The result means that Atalanta are mathematically safe, while Fiorentina’s fight to stay in Serie A continues.

El Tanque was not to be denied for long, though, and broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, after beating the offside trap to nod a cross from Gianpaolo Bellini past Neto in the Fiorentina goal as the Tuscan defence stood and watched.

Jovetic gave the Viola some hope after a right-footed strike from outside the box flashed past Consigli’s right-hand post. With Atalanta looking the more dangerous, Rossi’s team did their best to gain a foothold in the game. After a clash with Bonaventura, Valon Behrami was forced off for treatment to his shoulder on the touchline after 27 minutes, but his side again went close in the 36th minute when Houssine Kharja’s shot from outside the box went just wide.

The injured Behrami was replaced by Amidu Salifu for the second half, which began with a great move by the home side, though Neto was equal to another header by Denis. Atalanta’s second finally arrived six minutes after the restart, when a game of pinball in the area resulted in the ball dropping to Bonaventura, whose volley gave Neto no chance, with the Tuscan defence again at fault.

Maxi Moralez came close to putting the game to bed four minutes later, but his brilliant chip over Neto was headed off the line by Matija Nastasic. The referee Doveri awarded Fiorentina a penalty in the 71st minute, booking the substitute Raimondi in the process, for a foul on Acosty. Jovetic, though, failed to beat Consigli.

From then on, the game became increasingly difficult for the Viola. Jovetic was keen to make amends for his penalty with a lone run that was stopped only by Consigli at the second attempt. Eleven minutes from time, a shot from Atalanta’s Ferreira Pinto was too close to Neto.