Palermo, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcos Alonso's goal in the 78th minute helped Fiorentina to a 3-2 win at Palermo on Sunday that clinches a top-six spot in Serie A for the Viola, sending them to the Europa League next season.
First-half tallies from Josip Ilicic and Alberto Gilardino had Fiorentina up 2-1 at the break as Mate Jajalo scored in between for Palermo.
The hosts leveled the match in the 69th through Luca Rigoni, but Alonso found the net for the first time in league play this season to hand his team three points to climb into fifth place, two points clear of sixth-place Genoa.
Ilicic opened the scoring on 23 minutes with a nice individual play as he collected the ball 30 yards from goal and sent a fantastic chip over the head of goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.
Jajalo provided a response with a swerving effort from the edge of the penalty area just three minutes later, but Gilardino restored the advantage for the visitors by scoring from close range after a scuffed shot from Mati Fernandez.
Confusion in the Fiorentina defense allowed Rigoni to coast in and finish off a corner kick from Paulo Dybala to pull his side level in the 62nd minute, but Alonso struck the winner 12 minutes from time when he rifled home a pass from Gilardino to snatch the victory.
Sampdoria's Europa League hopes were ended on Sunday after the club was held to a 1-1 draw at Empoli with Samuel Eto'o scoring a stoppage-time equalizer for the Genoa-based side.
Cagliari edged Cesena, 1-0, with a late goal from Marco Sau in a battle of relegated sides, Luca Toni scored twice to help Hellas Verona rally for a 2-2 draw at last-place Parma, Francesco Magnanelli's 70th-minute goal lifted Sassuolo to a 1-0 win at Udinese, Sergio Pellisier scored in the 88th minute to salvage a 1-1 draw for Chievo against Atlanta, while Stephan El Shaarawy netted a brace to help AC Milan claim a 3-0 victory over Torino.
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