Fiorentina pulled off an all-important 2-0 triumph over Lazio at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday night. As it was the case this entire Serie A season, Dusan Vlahovic stole the show, leading his side to a vital three points with another brace.
Fiorentina held a slender four-point lead on 18th-placed Benevento ahead of the kick-off. With the prospect of relegation looming, La Viola desperately needed the victory to enter the final stretch with a bit more breathing room.
Lazio’s arrival in Florence was a daunting task for Giuseppe Iachini’s side, especially given the Biancocelesti won back-to-back Serie A matches by an aggregate score of 7-3. Fiorentina needed a hero, and Vlahovic answered the call with dignity.
The 21-year-old was in the right place at the right time to put the ball into the net 32 minutes into the encounter following a quick passage of play between Gaetano Castrovilli and Cristiano Biraghi. The big Serb did not only gave his side a precious half-time lead but went on to put the game to bed with a clinical header in the 89th minute.
Vlahovic’s double against Simone Inzaghi’s team took his tally for the 2020/21 Serie A season to 21. It was also his second consecutive brace following Fiorentina’s 3-3 draw with Bologna last time out.
The in-demand striker has now found the net in seven of his previous nine league outings, including the last four in a row. As a result, Vlahovic became the first Fiorentina player since legendary Gabriel Batistuta to score 20+ goals in a single league campaign.
During the post-game interview, the former Partizan Belgrade starlet praised his teammates but refused to compare himself to Lazio stalwart Ciro Immobile.
“We showed how important this game was for us: everything we kept inside came out, we are happy and proud to have won. We challenged a strong and important team, if we all play together our qualities come out: we know how much we work and how we feel,” Vlahovic said via TUTTOmercatoWEB.
“Talking about Immobile is difficult for me. He is a great footballer, and he has scored many goals. I was motivated, but I won’t say anything about the comparison.”
Fiorentina head coach Iachini was full of praise for his standout performer, insisting it’s not up to him to decide whether La Viola can keep hold of their jewel this summer.
“Dusan is working well with humility and commitment. He has scored a lot of goals in recent games. Fiorentina create chances. Sometimes waste them, we could have maybe a few more points, but here we go. The team supports him, and he has all the characteristics to do well.
“If I asked the company to keep him? It is not up to the coach.“