The hosts, who knew a win would lift them above their opponents and out of the bottom three, made their intentions clear from the off, as Federico Bonazzoli beat the offside trap and poked goalwards, only for his shot to be beaten away at the near post.
At the other end, Paolo Vanoli’s men came close through Fabiano Parisi, who also had an effort saved.
He would not be thwarted with his next chance though, tricking his way into the area with some silky footwork before firing through the legs of goalkeeper Emil Audero, who perhaps should have done better.
The visitors doubled their lead shortly afterwards when Robin Gosens spotted the superb run of teammate Roberto Piccoli and played a perfectly weighted through ball, which the forward converted with aplomb.
That gave Davide Nicola’s side a mountain to climb going into the break, especially as they had lost ten of the 11 previous Serie A matches this season in which they had trailed at half-time.
They did try to drag themselves back into the contest, but their only opening before the break fell to Tommaso Barbieri, who blazed harmlessly high and wide from distance.
Any hopes of an unlikely comeback seemed to be extinguished within minutes of the restart though, as Viola made it 3-0 thanks to Dodo’s wonderful solo goal.
The 27-year-old surged down the right wing before selling a dummy to the goalkeeper and a defender, which meant he could slot into an empty net.
Cremonese were in no mood to roll over though, and pulled one back when David Okereke slid home after being picked out in space near the penalty spot.
That proved to be nothing more than a consolation though, as the action soon returned to the other end, where a spectacular, full-stretch save kept out Rolando Mandragora’s curling strike, while the midfielder also sent a low drive just past the post.
That was simply a precursor for what was to come though, as Albert Gudmundsson restored the three-goal cushion by finding the bottom corner from inside the area.
That was a killer blow for Cremonese, who saw Okereke miss a header and Alessio Zerbin shoot off target, and are now three points from safety after extending their winless run to 15 outings. Fiorentina’s recent revival has seen them lose only once in six league fixtures since February.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Fabiano Parisi (Fiorentina)
