Argentina's Franco Mastantuono dragged Fiorentina to a thrilling 4-2 win over Sassuolo. His decisive goal in the 79th minute ended a run of three straight defeats, before Victor Valdepenas rounded off the scoring with his first goal for the club in stoppage time.
According to Spanish newspaper "AS", the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia hosted a meeting between two of Serie A's most defensively fragile sides, both unhappy with their form and desperate to get back on track.
Both teams opened cautiously, feeling each other out, and the first clear chance was slow to arrive. The one exception came from Mastantuono, on loan from Real Madrid, in the sixth minute.
That caution set a slow tempo, and it was the Argentine who tried to breathe life into the contest with his runs and pace.
Fiorentina closed down spaces tightly. Sassuolo, for all their busy midfield movement, found no clear attacking openings, though they gradually began to push forward.
Laurienté had no such problems. He pounced on the chance that fell to him in the 25th minute, after Esposito launched a counterattack with a well-measured pass.
De Gea rushed off his line to protect his goal but could not stop the Frenchman from firing Sassuolo in front.
Ndour tried to respond quickly after an organised move inside the box led by Mastantuono, and Pellegrino duly levelled it before the break.
The striker took Ndour's pass in the 47th minute, shielded the ball from Candé and found the net past Turati from close range. Half-time arrived with the sides locked at 1-1.
Having turned provider for Pellegrino, Ndour leaned on his own ability after the restart. A powerful right-footed strike from the edge of the box in the 50th minute put Fiorentina 2-1 up.
Aquilani refused to let his side fold. He bolstered Sassuolo's attack by introducing Boye from the 59th minute, while Mastantuono kept bursting into the opposition box and rattled the hosts with a left-footed effort that was turned behind for a corner.
That tactical switch paid off. Sassuolo regained their attacking momentum, and in the 65th minute Matić teed up Laurienté, who took his chance from a tight angle for his second of the night to make it 2-2.
The decisive moment came in the 79th minute, after a long wait and plenty of Mastantuono activity in Sassuolo's third. The Argentine tipped the balance firmly in Fiorentina's favour.
João Mário started the move on the left before feeding Pedro Gonçalves, who in turn set it up for the Argentine star to lash a left-footed finish into Turati's net for Fiorentina's third.
Sassuolo's defence had to shadow Mastantuono closely almost until the final whistle. For all his efforts to find space and turn the game again, they held firm.
Valdepenas sealed it in the 94th minute with his first goal in a Fiorentina shirt, making it 4-2. Pedro Gonçalves built the move, slipping the ball to Ndour, whose cross to the far post found the Spaniard waiting to tuck it home.