Fiorentina jeered off after squandering another two-goal lead, pressure on Paulo Sousa grows
ByReuters
Updated 27/02/2017 at 22:36 GMT
Fiorentina squandered a two-goal lead at home for the second time in five days on Monday and were jeered off the field following a 2-2 draw with Torino which heaped the pressure on coach Paulo Sousa.
Paulo Sousa
Image credit: AFP
Torino forward Andrea Belotti missed a penalty for the third time this season but then scored a brace for the visitors in the second half after Riccardo Saponara and Nikola Kalinic had given the hosts a two-goal halftime lead.
It was all too familiar for Fiorentina fans who last Thursday watched their team go 2-0 up at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach -- and 3-0 on aggregate -- in the Europa League but then collapse to a 4-2 defeat.
Some 300 fans protested at a training session on Sunday, demanding the resignation of coach Paulo Sousa, but the Portuguese said he would not stand down.
The result left Fiorentina eighth in Serie A, increasingly out of touch with the race for Europa League places, with Torino one place behind them.
Saponara gave Fiorentina an eighth-minute lead, turning in the rebound after Torino goalkeeper Joe Hart superbly stopped Borja Valero's shot, and Kalinic headed in seven minutes before the break.
Torino were nowhere to be seen and only Hart prevented a bigger lead for Fiorentina.
The second half was a completely different story and Fiorentina survived a let-off when Belotti sent a penalty against the crossbar after Carlos Salcedo had tripped Lucas Boye.
Their relief was short-lived, however, as Belotti headed a goal back in the 65th minute after being left completely unmarked.
The home fans could sense what was coming and five minutes from the end Daniele Baselli's cross found Belotti who slotted home his 19th goal of the season, making him joint top scorer alongside Gonzalo Higuain of Juventus and AS Roma's Edin Dzeko.
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