Lazio shot-stopper Ivan Provedel provided the highlights in the opening minutes, having been ushered into the spotlight with successive efforts from Luka Jovic and Jonathan Ikone, the closest of which saw the latter almost tap in the opener after the keeper spilt the former’s left-footed shot.
However, it was Fiorentina who conceded first following Matias Vecino’s perfect header from a corner kick that lodged into the right side of the goal, giving Pietro Terracciano no chance of saving.
Just as the game entered the midway mark, main man Sergej Milinkovic-Savic stepped up to serve his sixth assist of the season – the highest in Serie A so far, as he planted an inch-perfect ball for Mattia Zaccagni’s header that ended up inside the left post.
Having been punished for their wastefulness, the Viola seemed to not have learned from their mistakes in front of goal, continuing to waste and squander opportunities in the final third. Perhaps missing the incisiveness that Dusan Vlahovic gave them in the past, Vincenzo Italiano’s men entered HT with a mountain to climb.
However, Lazio almost tripled their lead 10 minutes after the restart, as Ciro Immobile agonisingly saw his blistering effort crash off the crossbar, much to the relief of the home crowd.
Winning two of their last three competitive matches ‘to nil’, Fiorentina found themselves in unfamiliar territory with two goals against their name as the clock wore down.
A third by Luis Alberto all but killed the game, as the Spaniard buried a low drive in the back of the net with great accuracy. They weren’t done though, with Milinkovic-Savic brilliantly teeing up Immobile for a fourth in the dying minutes.
It is the first time since March 2015 under Stefano Pioli that the Biancocelesti have won four in a row without conceding. In stark contrast, having failed to score in five league matches, the Viola are one of the league’s poorest attacks.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mattia Zaccagni (SS Lazio)
