Pre-match

With Giuseppe Iachini watching from the stands due to the yellow cards he picked up in the Coppa last year, his longtime assistant Giuseppe Carillo took over a side that rotated every player except Nikola Milenković from the Udinese match.

The big news was a round of positive tests for Padova players and staff, which forced manager Andrea Mandorlini into a very patchwork side and delayed kickoff by half an hour. It’s honestly pretty scary for the Viola players and you have to hope that everyone ends up healthy more than anything else; this is how that Juventus-Napoli debacle started, after all, but even that pales in comparison to the health risks associated with getting the virus.

First half

Fiorentina got off to a fine start as Lorenzo Venuti headed home a Riccardo Saponara cross at the near post to round off a nice team move. It was Lollo’s first goal for the senior side and it was quite well taken, so you’ve gotta be happy for him.

José Callejón also opened his Viola account, albeit via a lucky deflection. A quick 1-2 with Alfred Duncan freed up the Spaniard to shoot, but the ball bounced off Siniša Andelković, leaving goalkeeper Gianmarco Vannucchi completely wrong-footed.

Second half

This being Fiorentina, of course they coughed up a goal to the Serie C visitors. In fairness, Claudio Santini’s bicycle kick was absolutely superb, but capped off a period of sustained pressure which the hosts simply couldn’t shake.

Full time

Goals: Venuti 10’ (ass. Saponara), Callejón 32’ (ass. Duncan); Santini 55’ (ass. Andelković)

Cards: Pulgar 87’; Andelković 28’, Buglio 41’, Hallfreðsson 43’, Pelagatti 86’

What’s next

Fiorentina will advance to the fourth round of the Coppa Italia, where they’ll take on Udinese. The Zebrette dispatched Serie B outfit Vincenza 3-0 while the Viola limped over the line here. The match will be played on 25 November (Rocco Commisso’s birthday, no less). More immediately, though, this team needs to figure some things out before taking on AS Roma in the league on Sunday. Padova, meanwhile, will return to their pursuit of promotion to Serie B.