Fiorentina are in the Coppa Italia semi-final against either Roma or Cremonese after Luka Jovic’s header and a Jonathan Ikone strike, but Torino fought back for a tense ending to this game.
These teams met here in Serie A on January 21, with Toro winning 1-0 thanks to an Aleksey Miranchuk curler, their first victory in Florence for 45 years. Lucas Martinez Quarta, Gaetano Castrovilli and Riccardo Sottil were still injured. The Granata missed David Zima, Pietro Pellegri, Koffi Djidji and Valentin Lazaro, but had Ivan Ilic on the bench after his move from Verona.
It was a very aggressive start from the visitors, who in the opening minute saw Pietro Terracciano use his legs to parry a Samuele Ricci strike, then Perr Schuurs nodded inches wide on the resulting corner.
Fiorentina fought back and Rolando Mandragora was unlucky not to open the scoring with a wonderful volley that thumped the base of the upright, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic parrying the Aleksa Terzic follow-up.
Terracciano was alert on Antonio Sanabria’s header from a Miranchuk free kick, while Milinkovic-Savic fingertipped a Nico Gonzalez curler round the post.
Nico Gonzalez tested the goalkeeper with his weaker foot, but Christian Kouame missed a sitter set up by Jovic, somehow passing it wide of the empty net.
Ilic made his Toro debut, but Fiorentina took the lead when a corner was taken short for Terzic’s cross, finding the head of Luka Jovic.
Sofyan Amrabat made his comeback, greeted with some applause and mainly jeers, after trying to force through a move to Barcelona last night. He immediately threw himself in the way of danger for a decisive block on Sanabria, helping Terracciano make the save from point-blank range.
Miranchuk came very close to an equaliser on 85 minutes, skimming the crossbar after a Yann Karamoh knock-down, while Dodo blasted off target after Alessandro Buongiorno risked an own goal.
Fiorentina sealed it in the final minute when Arthur Cabral battled with Buongiorno for a loose ball and it was knocked back, Ikone let it bounce and thumped a half-volley in from just inside the box.
Cabral then smashed an Alfred Duncan low cross onto the underside of the crossbar when he perhaps should’ve left it for Ikone.
Moments later, Fiorentina gifted a goal with some suicidal defending, as Vlasic’s through ball sent Karamoh running and he prodded it beyond the on-rushing Terracciano, waltzing into an empty net.
Suddenly it wasn’t so certain for the hosts and Sanabria turned Nico Gonzalez to force a save from close range.
Fiorentina 2-1 Torino
Jovic 65 (F), Ikone 90 (F), Karamoh 93 (T)