Chievo leaves it late to sink Fiorentina
Luca Rigoni scored a late winner as Chievo climbed into the top half of the Serie A standings with a 2-1 victory at Fiorentina.
Just as the game at the Artemio Franchi stadium appeared to be heading for a draw, Rigoni struck two minutes from time to hand Chievo three vital points.
Sergio Pellissier had put the visitors ahead in the 24th minute but Fiorentina got an equaliser through substitute Adem Ljajic with 19 minutes remaining.
The result lifts Chievo to 10th in the standings with eight games remaining, while Fiorentina - victorious just once in their last nine games - have dropped to 17th in the standings, five points clear of the drop zone.
The visitors enjoyed a strong start and took the lead when Pellissier intercepted a poor backpass by Cesare Natali and struck the ball from the heart of the area past Fiorentina goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Fiorentina struggled to put a good move together and were limited to shooting from outside the box.
In the 35th minute, Juan Vargas' drive from 30 yards went over the bar, much to the disappointment of the home fans.
At the other end, Pellissier could have extended Chievo's lead before the interval but struck the ball wide from 10 yards.
Chievo continued to press forward and early in the second half Boruc kept out Michael Bradley's right-footed shot from outside the area.
Fiorentina came to life after the hour mark and equalised when Ljajic's powerful free-kick towards the far post beat Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.
Sorrentino then kept out Ljajic's close-range effort.
Chievo reclaimed the lead late in the game as they capitalised on another defensive mistake by Fiorentina.
Manuel Pasqual gave the ball away in his own half, allowing Pellissier to thread a pass to an unmarked Alberto Paloschi in the area.
Paloschi then fed Rigoni in the right side of the box and he
struck the ball past Boruc to hand his team all three points.