Fiorentina 3-4 Napoli: Highlights

Pre-match

Vincenzo Montella picked Lorenzo Venuti at leftback ahead of Cristiano Biraghi and Aleksa Terzić. Gaetano Castrovilli got the nod in midfield with Dušan Vlahović up top. Riccardo Sottil earned a start on the wing with Franck Ribery only on the bench. Carlo Ancelotti picked Giovanni di Lorenzo at rightback, but otherwise stuck to the rubric. Rocco Commisso was in town for his first Serie A game as Fiorentina owner.

First half

A rather soft handball called on Piotr Zieliński gave Erick Pulgar a chance to score his first Viola goal from the penalty spot, and the Chilean made no mistake, sending Alex Meret the wrong way.

Dries Mertens hit a stunner against the run of play to equalize. Not a lot you can do about these.

Mertens won a penalty shortly thereafter with this absolutely filthy dive, and Daniele Massa didn’t even ask to see it again.

Lorenzo Insigne buried the spot kick.

Second half

Fiorentina pulled even again through a towering header on a corner from Nikola Milenković, who scored in the season opener for the second year running.

José Callejón dragged the visitors ahead with a tremendous first-time effort that caught Bartłomiej Drągowski off guard and unsighted.

But substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng, after coming close twice in the previous moments, hit an absolute thunderbastard that went in off the upright to bring his new team level for the second time tonight.

Callejón, though, turned provider for Insigne, giving the diminutive forward the simplest header for Napoli to retake the lead after Lorenzo Venuti left the Spaniard in acres of space to pick his cross.

Franck Ribery sure looked like he’d won a penalty in extra time, but the referee didn’t even twitch towards the monitor.

Full time

Goals: Pulgar 9’ (PK), Milenković 51’ (ass. Pulgar), Boateng 65’ (ass. Castrovilli), Mertens 38’ (ass. Insigne), Insigne 42’ (PK), Callejón 56’ (ass. Insigne), Insigne 67’ (ass. Callejón)

Cards: Boateng 90’+3, Pezzella 90’+5, Allan 19’, Callejón 19’, Rui 24’, Zieliński 90’+1