Fiorentina and Napoli keep European hopes alive with thrilling four-goal draw
Having played a game more, Napoli trailed their hosts by two points at the start of play, yet it took just eight minutes for last season’s champions to haul themselves in front when Amir Rrahmani found himself unchallenged in the box, heading home Matteo Politano’s corner. Fiorentina made a slow start to proceedings but eventually played their way into the contest, albeit without initially carving out too many chances.
Nevertheless, two quickfire goals at the end of the first half turned the game on its head. First, Cristiano Biraghi fired in a precise free-kick off the underside of the crossbar past a motionless Alex Meret – his sixth set-piece strike from his last eight goals.
Sloppy defending soon led to a second Viola goal as M'Bala Nzola pinched the ball in the final third before manufacturing a shooting angle, burying the resultant effort in the bottom corner.
Armed with the lead and a record of just two defeats in 20 previous home games, Fiorentina looked to extend their advantage after the break, testing Meret with a Nicolas Gonzalez curler.
Despite their dominance, the hosts were pegged back to level terms just before the hour mark when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s stunning free-kick rivalled Biraghi’s for quality, beating a diving Pietro Terracciano to fly into the top corner.
Momentum swung back and forth in the final half-hour, and it looked as though Fiorentina may snatch all three points when Stanislav Lobotka seemingly upended Andrea Belotti in the box, only for Matteo Marchetti to reverse his original decision.
Faint hopes of European qualification are still alive for the Partenopei, who are now winless in six (D3, L2) and will finish outside the top seven for the first time since the 2008/09 season.
Meanwhile, La Viola are on the brink of sealing European football for next season via the league, finishing their domestic campaign strongly as they look forward to a second successive UEFA Europa Conference League final when they take on Olympiacos at the end of the month.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina)
