Roma 4-0 Fiorentina
Roma capitalized on draws by Juventus and Como to further compress the battle for fourth place in Serie A. The emphatic 4-0 win over Fiorentina, who had gone seven matches without a loss, allowed Roma to leapfrog Cesc’s team and move into fifth, just one point behind the ‘Vecchia Signora’.
Within the first 15 minutes, Malen unleashed a shot that struck the crossbar and went out for a corner. Pisilli, starting in midfield alongside Manu Koné in the absence of Cristante and El Aynaoui, delivered the cross, and Mancini got to the ball first at the near post to put Roma ahead.
Roma built on that momentum. In the 17th minute, Mario Hermoso appeared at the edge of the box, received a pass from Soulé on the right, and laid it off for Wesley to fire first-time into the far corner for 2-0. De Gea stretched but could not prevent the Brazilian wing-back’s goal.
Roma seemed to take a breather, but Hermoso was in fine form. Just after the hour mark, he popped up in the six-yard box to tap in a cross from Manu Koné, who had beaten his man on the byline. The former Atlético Madrid star is in splendid form—he scored in the draw against Atalanta in mid-April and provided another assist against Lecce in March.
Fiorentina coach Vanolli responded with a triple substitution (Comuzzo, Braschi, and Parisi), but it made little difference. Pisilli scored Roma’s fourth in the 58th minute, again from a set piece delivered by Donyell Malen, who narrowly missed out on a goal himself. Malen’s impact has been outstanding since joining on loan from Villa in January, already contributing 14 goals. If Roma clinch a Champions League spot, they will have no excuse not to make his move permanent.
