Dusan Vlahovic silenced critics with a hat-trick, as Fiorentina thrashed sorry Spezia 3-0, Vincenzo Italiano tearing apart his old team.
Vincenzo Italiano faced his former club, who he left over the summer after weeks of tense discussions. Nico Gonzalez still has COVID, with Erick Pulgar and Bartlomiej Dragowski injured. Spezia missed Kevin Agudelo and Medhi Bourabia.
Giulio Maggiore and Giacomo Bonaventura had early attempts just off target, while Ivan Provedel parried from Gaetano Castrovilli.
Provedel had his gloves stung by Riccardo Sottil after the initial Riccardo Saponara attempt was charged down.
The pressure eventually paid off when Emmanuel Gyasi jumped with his arm very high and practically swiped the ball off Nikole Milenkovic’s head, spotted on VAR for a penalty. Vlahovic opted against taking a spot-kick last week after protests from fans over his contract status, but he stepped up and sent Provedel the wrong way this time.
Moments later, Provedel flew to fingertip a Vlahovic curler out from under the bar, taken from the edge of the box.
Vlahovic had the ball in the net on 51 minutes, but was clearly offside on Sottil’s pass.
The Serbian did double his tally eventually at the end of a wonderful passing move. Alvaro Odriozola got down the right after combining with Saponara’s back-heel flick, pulled it back to 10 yards for Vlahovic to take a touch and fire in at the near bottom corner.
Odriozola impressed again soon after, as Saponara and Vlahovic combined to send him clear, but the Spaniard prodded inches wide as Provedel came rushing out.
It was one-way traffic and Vlahovic completed his hat-trick when substitute Jose Callejon rolled across from the right for a simple finish from 10 yards.
Fiorentina almost got a fourth moments later, Youssef Maleh’s header just over from close range and then Cristiano Biraghi skimming the woodwork.
Fiorentina 3-0 Spezia
Vlahovic pen 44, 62, 74 (F)