Fresh from booking their spot in a first European quarter-final since 2015, Fiorentina looked to dominate the opening 20 minutes, with plenty of possession inside the Lecce half. For all their control however, clear-cut chances were at a premium, as Riccardo Saponara saw the hosts’ best opportunity well-saved by Wladimiro Falcone in the Lecce goal.
Fiorentina continued to pursue an early opener and deservedly broke the deadlock before the half-hour mark, when Antonino Gallo diverted a dangerous delivery from Saponara into his own net. This gave the in-form hosts an injection of confidence with HT looming, but wasteful finishing from Antonín Barák and Saponara kept Fiorentina’s advantage to just a single goal going into the interval.
Lecce emerged after the restart desperate to gain a foothold in the contest. However, the struggling visitors - looking to avoid a fourth consecutive SA defeat ‘to nil’ - were denied a leveller, as Pietro Terracciano stood firm to deny efforts from Federico Di Francesco and Gabriel Strefezza.
With time ticking into the final 20 minutes, Fiorentina regained control of proceedings, as the Viola went in pursuit of a second goal to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach. Arthur Cabral twice came close to adding late gloss to the scoreline, while at the other end, Assan Ceesay spurned a glorious late chance to snatch a point for Lecce, as a solitary goal proved enough to seal victory for Fiorentina.
The result sees the hosts move up to ninth in the table, eight points adrift of sixth-placed Atalanta, while Lecce remain 15th, after losing four consecutive league matches ‘to nil’ for the first time since 2020.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Riccardo Saponara (Fiorentina)
