Fifth-placed Fiorentina hosted sixth-placed Roma in a crucial match in the race for a Champions League spot. The Viola played in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Franco Semioli, Stevan Jovetic, and Jorge Vargas behind Alberto Gilardino up front, while the Giallorossi played in the same formation with Rodrigo Taddei, Matteo Brighi and Julio Baptista behind captain Francesco Totti in attack.

Just before the match, there were some bust-ups between the two sets of fans, as a group of Fiorentina fans broke the front glass on Roma’s bus, while a car with Roma fans hit two Fiorentina supporters, who were injured.

First Half

The match was lively from the start, and the home side took the lead within six minutes.Vargas received the ball on the edge of the area and fired a brilliant left-footed shot that found its way toward the bottom corner of the net. The visitors responded two minutes later, when Baptista fired a free-kick from distance just over the crossbar.

Fiorentina made themselves dangerous again in the 10th minute, when Gilardino tried a shot from inside the area, which was deflected by a Roma defender, allowing goalkeeper Artur to grab the ball. A huge chance presented itself three minutes later for Roma, when David Pizarro made a run on the right and sent in a perfect cross that was met by Brighi, who fired the ball over the bar just in front of the goal-line.

On the quarter-hour mark, the Giallorossi were dangerous again as Brighi played the ball back to Taddei from the right, and the Brazilian winger fired a first-time shot that went just wide of the goal. In the 22nd minute, there was a controversial episode in Roma’s area, as Daniele De Rossi made a dodgy challenge on Jovetic, making contact with both the ball and the attacker’s leg, but the referee waved play on among protests of the home team.

It was an end-to-end match, and just a minute later Marco Motta responded for Roma with a dangerous shot from a difficult position on the right side of the area that ended up in the side netting. Three minutes after that Christian Panucci came close to equalising for the visitors, but his header on a corner-kick went just wide.

After a quiet period in the game, the next chance was again for Roma, as in the 38th minute Totti made a great move and played in a great pass to Brighi, who badly scuffed his shot from the edge of the area. Just before the half-time break, Fiorentina had a couple chances to score again, Gilardino volleying the ball well wide on an assist by Semioli in the second minute of injury time, and a minute later Marco Cassetti needed to stop Jovetic’s run towards goal with a touch off his shoulder that could have cost him a second yellow card.

An entertaining first half thus finished on a 1-0 lead for Fiorentina, though Roma probably deserved an equaliser.

Second Half

The teams came back from the dressing room unchanged for the second half. On their first chance of the second half, the home side stunned Roma by finding a second goal, as Jovetic played it to Semioli on the right, who sent in a precise cross into the area that was headed past Artur by Gilardino in the 47th minute.

The Giallorossi again responded immediately two minutes later, when Brighi made a good run down the middle and played it to Baptista, who fired a shot on goal that beat Sebastien Frey but didn’t get past Manuel Pasqual, who made a great last-second clearence.

Gilardino came close to getting a brace in the 56th minute, as he almost took advantage of a mistake by Motta with a shot from the left side of the area, but Artur came up with a fine reflex to keep it out. Two minutes later, Roma came close as Pizarro sent in a free-kick, that was cleared away only as far as Cassetti, who fired a strange shot from the edge of the area that bounced on the ground before coming off the crossbar with Frey beaten.

On the hour mark, the match was as good as finished as Pizarro got sent off after receiving his second yellow card for an argument with Semioli. In the 67th minute, Gilardino sealed the deal for the home side with his second goal, as he controlled a nice pass by Montolivo inside the area, dribbled past Cassetti and fired the ball toward the bottom right corner of the net.

Roma were down and out after this goal, but they did manage to come close to a consolation goal in the 70th minute, when substitute Marco D’Alessandro made a run on the left, going past Pasqual, and played in a great ball into the area that was headed just wide of the goal by Baptista.

Three minutes later, the Viola made it a humiliating scoreline for Luciano Spalletti’s men, as Semioli played in a cross from the right for Gilardino, whose close range header was brilliantly saved by Artur, but on the rebound substitute Massimo Gobbi was on hand to make it 4-0 Fiorentina.

In the 78th minute, Roma again went close to snatching a consolation, as Frey came up with a great diving save to keep out a shot by Motta from the edge of the area on a corner kick by De Rossi.

Four minutes before the end, the visitors did manage to get on the scoresheet at least, thanks to a great piece of skill by Baptista. The Brazilian dribbled past Gianluca Comotto on the left, cut inside and fired a tremendous shot that left Frey without a chance. The match finished on a 4-1 scoreline for the home side without any added stoppage-time. An emphatic victory for Fiorentina that momentarily pushes them into fourth place in the table, but they may be overtaken by Genoa again tomorrow. Meanwhile, Roma suffered a bad blow to their chances of making into the Champions League.

Teams

Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): Frey; Comotto, Gamberini, Dainelli, Pasqual; Donadel, Montolivo; Semioli, Jovetic (72’ Gobbi), Vargas (53’ Kuzmanovic); Gilardino (80’ Bonazzoli). Coach: Prandelli.

Roma (4-2-3-1): Artur; Motta, Cassetti (80’ Tonetto), Panucci, Riise; De Rossi, Pizarro; Taddei (64’ D’Alessandro), Brighi, Baptista; Totti. Coach: Spalletti.

Goals: 6’ Vargas, 47’, 69’ Gilardino, 73’ Gobbi (F), 86’ Baptista (R)

Booked: Dainelli, Donadel, Semioli, Vargas (F); Cassetti, Pizarro 2x, Brighi (R)

Sent Off: 60’ Pizarro (R)