Impressive Fiorentina hit struggling Lecce for six in dominant Serie A victory
The international break came at a much-needed time for Lecce, who had been on a run of five matches without a win (D2, L3). This game was no different though, as the Giallorossi fell behind just 20 minutes in.
The goal came courtesy of Danilo Cataldi, with the Italian netting his first goal for Fiorentina with a stunning first-time strike from the edge of the area that snuck into the bottom-left corner.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts too, finding themselves two goals behind with 10 minutes of the first half remaining.
This time the goal came from Andrea Colpani, after Wladimiro Falcone was only able to parry the ball out as far as the Italian, who rifled in a rebound from the edge of the box and into the bottom-right corner.
Any sign of a Lecce comeback looked all but over, with Luca Gotti’s side being reduced to 10 men on the brink of half-time, as Antonino Gallo was shown a straight red card for a foul on Dodo.
The red card wasn’t the only punishment though. Cataldi took the resulting free-kick and buried it in the top-right corner to give Raffaele Palladino’s side a comprehensive lead at the break.
Gotti made three changes at the break, in hopes of rectifying his side's problems. However, that proved to do little to help, with Fiorentina netting a fourth nine minutes after half-time, as Colpani scored his second of the game.
This time the goal came after Colpani saw his initial effort saved by Colpani, but the Italian made no mistake the second time as he fired a volley into the top-left corner.
La Viola added a fifth with just over an hour played, as Lucas Beltran got in on the action, after more lacklustre defending led to Christian Kouame squaring the ball to Beltran who placed the ball into the empty net from inside the six-yard box.
Fiorentina continued to go for the jugular, netting their sixth, with just under 20 minutes to play, as Fabiano Parisi’s deflected effort flew into the top-left corner.
La Viola coasted towards the end of the game from there, claiming their third win in the Serie A in their last four games to climb up to fifth in the league table.
Meanwhile, Lecce continue to struggle, with the Giallorossi sitting 18th, having now lost their last three league matches without scoring a single goal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Andrea Colpani (Fiorentina)
