Having emerged as potential title contenders, a confident Fiorentina side required just 19 minutes to flex their muscles against relegation-threatened Como. Yacine Adli latched onto Lucas Beltran's layoff on the edge of the box to fire a ferocious strike past Emil Audero, who may have been frustrated with his failure to keep the shot out.
Adli’s third goal of the season proved to be one of just two shots on target in a cagey first half at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, ensuring that Fiorentina took a slender lead into the half-time interval.
After being untroubled in the first period, Fiorentina goalkeeper David de Gea was forced into action around the hour mark. The Spaniard made two fine saves in quick succession to deny Edoardo Goldaniga and Federico Barba, before he clawed the loose ball behind to clear the danger.
Fiorentina seemingly took heed of that warning offered by Como as they soon went on the front foot to double their advantage through Moise Kean. Fiorentina’s top scorer produced a first-time finish from Riccardo Sottil’s low cross to divert the ball into the top corner at the near post.
With time running out, Patrick Cutrone attempted to help his side set up a grandstand finish when he delivered a dangerous inswinging cross, only to see his delivery miss Andrea Belotti’s head and the far post by a matter of inches.
However, it ultimately proved to be a frustrating outing for Como, which boiled over when Alberto Dossena was shown a late red card for making contact with Adli’s face.
As a result of the loss, Cesc Fabregas’ side are now winless in seven matches and just one point above the drop zone. For Fiorentina’s part, they move level with Atalanta and Inter Milan at the top of the table as they continue to dream of an unlikely title push.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yacine Adli (Fiorentina)