Serie A | Verona 0-1 Fiorentina: Fagioli steals massive victory for safety

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Skip to contentVERONA, ITALY – APRIL 04: Nicolò Fagioli of Fiorentina celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal with his teammate Jacopo Fazzini during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on April 04, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)

Fiorentina thanked several big David De Gea saves and a Nicolò Fagioli goal against the run of play, beating Verona to break away from the drop zone.

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This was a huge relegation dogfight, as the Viola were only two points clear of the drop zone and made the trip without Rolando Mandragora, Dodo, Fabiano Parisi, Manor Solomon, Niccolò Fortini, and Tariq Lamptey, but Moise Kean was risked from the start despite a recurring ankle issue.

Hellas were joint rock bottom with Pisa, missing Sandi Lovric, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Suat Serdar, although Domagoj Bradaric and Antoine Bernede were available again.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Fiorentina had a huge chance to take the lead in the fourth minute when the Nicolò Fagioli volley from the edge of the area smacked the top of the crossbar.

At the other end, David De Gea needed a sensational one-handed save to deny the Bernede scorcher at the near post, but Kieron Bowie scuffed from a promising position on the Rafik Belghali pull-back.

De Gea flew again to palm a Gift Orban strike out from under the crossbar, then had an even tougher save on Oyegoke after Bowie pounced on a Marin Pongracic error.

Verona kept pushing after the restart, as three times they flashed dangerous balls across the face of goal, with nobody able to get the tap-in, most dangerously when Bowie was inches away from getting his boot to it from four yards.

Bowie also cut inside to bend a left-foot finish just over the bar, but it was Fiorentina who took the lead completely against the run of play. Jack Harrison got down the right and laid it off for Fagioli to sweep in first time with the right foot from 14 yards. The home fans and players were furious, because only moments earlier the referee had stopped play for a Fagioli injury in a clash with Roberto Gagliardini.

The tension spilled out when Tomas Suslov and Albert Gudmundsson got into a brawl before a Verona free kick, leading to them both getting sent off with ripped jerseys.

It was a tough slog, but Fiorentina leapfrog Cagliari in the standings and practically doom Verona to relegation.

Verona 0-1 Fiorentina

Fagioli 82 (F)

Sent off: Gudmundsson 85 (F), Suslov 85 (V)

04-04-2026 17:00

MatchDay 31

Stadio Marcantonio BentegodiVeronaFiorentina

Live0 – 1

Player statistic

Verona

Fiorentina

Starting lineups

1

Lorenzo Montipò
Goalkeeper

5

Andrias Edmundsson
Defender

2

Daniel Oyegoke
Defender

75′

3

Martin Frese
Defender

7

Rafik Belghali
Defender

15

Victor Nelsson
Defender

90′

24

Antoine Bernede
Midfielder

75′

11

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro
Midfielder

63

Roberto Gagliardini
Midfielder

16

Gift Orban
Attacker

67′

18

Kieron Bowie
Attacker

43

David de Gea
Goalkeeper

6

Luca Ranieri
Defender

5

Marin Pongracic
Defender

15

Pietro Comuzzo
Defender

90′

27

Cher Ndour
Midfielder

80

Giovanni Fabbian
Midfielder

59′

44

Nicolò Fagioli
Midfielder

90′

21

Robin Gosens
Midfielder

76′

10

Albert Gudmundsson
Attacker

17

Jack Harrison
Attacker

20

Moise Kean
Attacker

76′

Substitutes

21

Abdou Harroui
Midfielder

34

Simone Perilli
Goalkeeper

14

Pol Lirola
Defender

36

Cheikh Niasse
Attacker

94

Giacomo Toniolo
Goalkeeper

73

Moatasem Al-Musrati
Midfielder

6

Nicolás Valentini
Defender

19

Tobias Slotsager
Defender

70

Fallou Cham
Defender

41

Isaac
Attacker

9

Amin Sarr
Attacker

67′

12

Domagoj Bradaric
Defender

75′

10

Tomas Suslov
Attacker

75′

25

Daniel Mosquera
Attacker

90′

1

Luca Lezzerini
Goalkeeper

53

Oliver Christensen
Goalkeeper

60

Eddy Kouadio
Defender

23

Eman Kospo
Defender

61

Riccardo Braschi
Attacker

63

Piergiorgio Bonanno
Midfielder

64

Lapo Deli
Midfielder

67

Edoardo Sadotti
Defender

91

Roberto Piccoli
Attacker

59′

22

Jacopo Fazzini
Midfielder

76′

62

Luis Balbo
Defender

76′

3

Daniele Rugani
Defender

90′

4

Marco Brescianini
Midfielder

90′

BySusy Campanale

Original Article