Fiorentina survives seven-goal thriller with Hellas Verona
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florence, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Borja Valero bagged two goals inside the opening 15 minutes on Monday as Fiorentina hung on for a nervy 4-3 victory over 10-man Hellas Verona in a wild affair at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Fiorentina got off the mark quickly as Valero collected a loose ball on the right side of the pitch, cut to the middle of the park and ripped it past Hellas Verona goalkeeper Rafael just five minutes into proceedings.
But just moments later Hellas earned an equalizer as Romulo pounced on a rebound and smashed it past Fiorentina goalkeeper Norberto Murara Neto.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seven minutes later, Hellas seized the lead when Juan Manuel Iturbe corralled a pass on the right side of the pitch from Luca Toni and smashed a strike with pace into the side netting.
Fiorentina responded immediately as just one minute later a strike from Valero deflected off the leg of a Hellas Verona defender in behind Rafael to put the sides on level terms.
The hosts finally grabbed the lead two minutes before the intermission when Juan Vargas smashed a shot from distance that just snuck inside the right post to make it a 3-2 game at the break.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After the break, Fiorentina seized firm control of the match in the 53rd minute when Hellas defender Bosko Jankovic was shown a straight red card for an intentional hand ball, allowing Giuseppe Rossi to bury the ensuing penalty kick for a 4-2 margin.
Despite playing with 10 men, Hellas pulled one back 18 minutes from time when Jorginho fired one home, but they were unable to find another equalizer as Fiorentina hung on to claim all three points.
The result pulls Fiorentina level on 27 points with fourth-place Inter Milan, while Hellas Verona remains in sixth with 22 points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Monday's other Serie A match, Gonzalo Higuain netted a brace as Napoli took a 4-2 victory against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Higuain put the visitors in front after 24 minutes but Lazio claimed an equalizer via a Valon Behrami own goal. Goran Pandev put Napoli back in front five minutes after the break and Higuain put the traveling side two ahead with his second goal 18 minutes from time.
With time running out, Lazio supporters were given a flash of hope as youngster Keita ripped a strike into the roof of the net to make it 3-2 in the 88th minute.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Napoli finally put the game away in stoppage time as Jose Callejon fired it home following a turnover in midfield to restore the two goal margin and deal a knockout blow to Lazio.