Dusan Vlahovic will have to settle with sharing the Serie A record for most goals in a calendar year (33) with Cristiano Ronaldo. Even though they fielded a makeshift defense, Verona held the Serbian striker, and the rest of Fiorentina, in check. The match was a proper rock fight. Each team had just one shot on goal, and both went through.
Despite Fiorentina coming into the game with more momentum, Verona were the aggressors in the first half. At the 13th minute, Marco Davide Faraoni hit the post with a surgical shot from the baseline that surprised Pietro Terracciano. Four minutes late, Gianluca Caprari intercepted a pass deep and quickly sprung Kevin Lasagna loose. The forward burned the opposing goalie with a lefty finish for his first goal of the season.
Giacomo Bonaventura had a major chance at the 32nd minute after stripping Miguel Veloso, but the defenders stopped him at the last minute. Giovanni Simeone squandered an even bigger one a few moments later. Igor slipped inside the box, Lasagna quickly teed up the teammate, but he badly missed the mark.
Fiorentina tried to raise the intensity after halftime, but they could not properly pin Verona back. They had their best salvo with 15 minutes to go. Vlahovic for once escaped the tenacious guard of Nicolò Casale. However, a great cross-shot from difficult position flew just above the crossbar.
The Viola equalized at the 81st minute. Aleksa Terzic motored down the left flank and found Gaetano Castrovilli with a great cross, and the midfielder bagged it with a spectacular diving header. They almost completed their comeback right away, but Alfred Duncan had a poor finish after escaping the defense. Verona successfully composed themselves after the scare and managed to protect the tie.