Fiorentina continued their dismal form in the Conference League as well, as three Pierluigi Gollini howlers gifted Istanbul Basaksehir victory and Jonathan Ikone saw red.
The Viola missed Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Nico Gonzalez and Gaetano Castrovilli, with confidence low after three goals in their last seven competitive games and a 1-1 opening draw against RFS Riga. Istanbul Basaksehir beat Hearts 4-0 in the group and included former Serie A players Stefano Okaka and Lucas Biglia. This match was played in a stadium named after ex-Fiorentina coach Fatih Terim.
There was a problem in the warm-up for Lucas Martinez-Quarta, so Rolando Mandragora stepped into midfield and Sofyan Amrabat had to play as a makeshift centre-back.
Serdar Gurler surged forward and cut inside past Igor, but was closed down by the Brazilian and Aleksa Terzic without committing a foul.
Jonathan Ikone was booked for bringing down Hasan Ali Kaldrim just outside the area, which was not a red only because of the rather wide position of the run.
Riccardo Saponara and Danijel Aleksic tested the goalkeepers with cross-shots, then Mounir Chouiar unleashed a long-range strike that flew inches over the bar.
Fiorentina were pushing more after the restart with Luka Jovic on the field, but instead they went behind to a double Pierluigi Gollini error.
First he gave away an entirely avoidable corner with bad footwork, then conceded from the corner at the near post as Serdar Gurler fired it through him from a tight angle.
Gollini was responsible for the second goal too, as the long Lorenzo Venuti back-pass bobbled, but he then tried to take several touches to control it outside the penalty area rather than clear, allowing Serdar Gurler to steal it and deposit into an empty net.
It got even worse when Ikone was sent off moments later, as he was already on a yellow card when going in with a ridiculously ill-timed high boot on Touba.
Venuti drilled inches wide from distance and Luka Jovic turned a half-volley over, but once again Fiorentina failed to make their chances count.
Instead, a classic counter-attack got the third for the hosts, Szysz laying it off for Bertrand Traore, whose shot squirmed under the ineffective Gollini.
Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0 Fiorentina
Serdar Gurler 57, 71 (I), Traore 89 (I)
Sent off: Ikone 76 (F)
Conference league opposition to be underestimated at your peril! They all play with a point to prove, it’s a long and tricky competition.
Couldn’t agree more, everyone thought it was easy but look at La Viola now, this is why never underestimate other teams league