Adrian Mutu
MILAN, Italy – Adrian Mutu and Christian Vieri scored on penalties Saturday to give Fiorentina a 2-1 victory over visiting Torino in the Serie A.
Vieri put Fiorentina ahead as first-half injury time expired, after Mutu was fouled in the area. Torino midfielder Vince Grella equalized with a low shot in the 57th, but Mutu earned the second penalty in the 76th and converted it himself.
The goal was his 12th of the season and puts him one behind league leader David Trezeguet of Juventus.
"We had a tough first half and that’s the merit of Torino which didn’t give us much space," Mutu said.
Torino goalkeeper Matteo Sereni made several key saves to keep the game close, but it was not enough to give his team its first win in Florence in 31 years.
Vieri’s goal was his 200th in Italy’s Serie A and B.
The win is Fiorentina’s third straight and puts the club in fourth place with 34 points, two more than Udinese. Udinese hosts AC Milan and its Brazilian attack of Kaka, Ronaldo and Alexandre Pato on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, league leader Inter Milan hosts Parma and second-place AS Roma plays at home against Catania.
Inter has 46 points, Roma 39 and Juventus 36.
In Saturday’s other game, Marco Borriello and Luciano Figueroa scored to rally Genoa to a 2-1 win over visiting Atalanta.
Cristiano Doni had given Atalanta the lead on a penalty in the 68th minute before Borriello equalized five minutes later for his 11th goal of the season.
Figueroa scored the winner in the 84th, heading in a corner after just missing a chance moments earlier on another header.
Borriello’s goal puts him even with Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic for third place among scorers in Serie A behind Trezeguet and Mutu.
Atalanta had a second goal called back for a questionable offsides less than a minute before Borriello scored. Atalanta coach Luigi Del Neri was ejected in the 88th for protesting.
Atalanta hit the post three times and dominated most of the first half, but was unable to convert. Genoa missed several good chances in the second half before Borriello’s goal.
The win pushes Genoa to 25 points while Atalanta stays at 22 points, with a game in hand.
In Sunday’s other games, it is: Juventus versus Sampdoria; Livorno versus Empoli; Napoli versus Lazio; Palermo versus Siena and Reggina versus Cagliari.
Source: ITA: Fiorentina beats Torino
