Fiorentina moved to the top of the Serie A table after goals from Josip Ilicic, Borja Valero and Joan Verdu gave the hosts a 3-0 win over 10-man Atalanta BC this evening.
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The current leaders got off to a great start when Jakub Blaszczykowski drew a foul from Gabriel Paletta inside the area, leading to a penalty and an instant dismissal for the visiting defender.
The home side then took the lead as Ilicic converted from the spot with an adroit finish into the bottom-left corner of goal.
Valero might have doubled the lead for Fiorentina not long after, but his shot from range was kept out cleverly by Atalanta keeper Marco Sportiello.
The miss was not to matter too much, however, as Valero returned in the 34th minute to grab a second goal for the hosts and put them in a strong position going into half time.
BC could have found a route back into the game after the interval, but Boukary Drame could not find a way past Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The hosts completed the win in the dying embers of the game when Nikola Kalinic slipped in an incisive through-ball to Verdu, who made no mistake to leave the final score at 3-0.
Christopher Dodd
