Fiorentina 2 - 0 Chievo: Fiorentina back up to second after beating Chievo

Posted Monday, December 21, 2015 by PA

Fiorentina sit just behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan heading into the winter break after beating Chievo 2-0.

Paulo Sousa's men were briefly dislodged from second place by resurgent Juventus, who beat Carpi on Sunday, but they wasted no time forcing their way back into title contention with goals from Nikola Kalinic and Josip Ilicic.

The margin of victory might have been greater had Chievo goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri not pulled off a succession of fine stops to ensure his Gialloblu colleagues were not roundly trounced at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Fiorentina, in an irrepressible mood with second spot up for grabs, went close to scoring in the 12th minute when Ilicic's screamer forced Bizzarri into a flying save.

They made the breakthrough eight minutes later when Kalinic snaffled Federico Bernardeschi's pass before placing the ball underneath Bizzarri. It was a 10th goal of the season for the striker signed from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

After trying his luck unsuccessfully with a left-footed rasper that went just wide, Ilicic found the target in the 32nd minute when his powerful effort got the better of Chievo's goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

The hosts remained dominant when play resumed but Chievo were more aggressive in getting to the ball, with Lucas Castro almost capitalising on some sloppy covering play from Facundo Roncaglia.

Borja Valero ensured Bizzarri's busy afternoon continued when he unleashed a splendid attempt from range, but the Argentinian keeper spoiled his fun and gave Mario Suarez the same treatment in the 85th minute.