Updated at 22.08
DUSAN VLAHOVIC added two more goals to his rapidly growing tally for Fiorentina in Saturday’s 4-0 Serie A win over Salernitana which continues an encouraging season for the Tuscans.
Serbia forward Vlahovic lashed home the Viola’s second five minutes after half-time and tapped home Riccardo Sottil’s low cross six minutes from the end to make it 15 league goals for the season and move top of the goalscoring charts in Italy.
Giacomo Bonaventura opened with a well-struck volley in the 31st minute while Youssef Maleh netted following a saved Vlahovic shot in the final minute as Fiorentina move up to fifth on 30 points, three ahead of sixth-placed Juventus who are at Venezia in Saturday’s early evening match.
Vincenzo Italiano’s side are also four points from Atalanta in the final Champions League spot ahead of their trip to Verona on Sunday.
Vlahovic, 21, has now scored 32 Serie A goals in 2021 and is leading Fiorentina to what looks to be their best season in years.
With 10 wins so far this campaign Fiorentina have already beaten last year’s tally and are aiming to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2016.
He had been targeted with insults by supporters earlier in the season after refusing to sign an extension to his current contract which expires in the summer of 2023, with Arsenal and Tottenham among the teams linked with a move for the star.
However his form — seven goals in his last five matches — has brought the crowd in Florence back on his side.
Salernitana’s sixth defeat in their last seven matches leaves them rooted to the bottom of the league on eight points from their 17 matches.
Elsewhere, Juve’s bid to reach the Champions League next season suffered a fresh blow on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at Venezia.
Mattia Aramu earned promoted Venezia an excellent point against the 36-time Italian champions with a curling low drive nine minutes after half-time.
The 26-year-old’s fifth goal of the season moved Venezia six points away from the relegation zone, a great response after throwing away a three-goal lead to lose to rivals Verona last week.
“We had a real desire to bounce back after that horrible defeat, we’ve got a great point and we showed what we’re made of,” said Aramu to DAZN.
“We wanted to show everyone because it hasn’t been an easy week.”
Juve meanwhile are sixth after being leapfrogged by Fiorentina earlier in the day and are six points behind fourth-placed Atalanta, who sit in the final Champions League spot and travel to Verona on Sunday.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side had looked to be on their way to their fourth straight win in all competitions when Alvaro Morata poked home Luca Pellegrini’s cross in the 32nd minute.
And they were unlucky not to retake the lead 10 minutes after Aramu’s leveller through Federico Bernadeschi, whose superb chest and volley effort was brilliantly tipped away by Sergio Romero in the Venezia goal.
Matters were made worse for Juve by the early loss of Paulo Dybala to injury, the latest of a series of niggling problems for the Argentine.
The 28-year-old, who was substituted at half-time of Juve’s 1-0 win over Malmo on Wednesday, limped off the field in the 12th minute and after being replaced by Kaio Jorge was seen with a bandage around his right knee.
“I’m worried, we risked it a bit,” said Allegri to DAZN.
“On Wednesday he left the field with a light muscle problem. We thought he was OK but instead, that wasn’t the case.”
In the late game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic snatched a late point for AC Milan in a 1-1 draw at Udinese on Saturday which give the Serie A leaders’ title rivals a chance to steal top spot
Ibrahimovic struck with an acrobatic effort in the 92nd minute to claim a point for the Rossoneri but Inter Milan, who are two points behind their local rivals in second will end the weekend in first place if they beat struggling Cagliari at the San Siro on Sunday.
Napoli are a further point back and can move level on 39 points with Milan before Inter kick-off with a win over Empoli in Naples, with some of their key players including Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Lorenzo Insigne back in the squad.
Also waiting in the wings are Atalanta, who sit fourth but are only five points behind Milan ahead of their trip to Verona on Sunday afternoon.
Milan are in the midst of a injury crisis, with starting centre-back Simon Kjaer out long-term and forwards Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic all sidelined, and it was another low key display after being dumped out of Europe by Liverpool midweek.
Beto put the hosts in a 17th-minute lead in Gabriele Cioffi’s first match as Udinese’s caretaker boss when he bundled home on the rebound after Mike Maignan saved his first effort when clean through on goal.
Beto could easily have sealed the points for Udinese in the closing stages when he slipped a close-range finish just wide, and Ibrahimovic got something from the game for his underwhelming team when he took Daniel Maldini’s knockdown and thrashed home a barely deserved leveller.
