Fiorentina edged past Esbjerg 3-1 at the Blue Water Arena in the Europa League this evening.

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All four goals were inside the first 15 minutes and La Viola raced into a two-goal lead as Alessandro Matri's strike followed Alberto Aquilani's early penalty.

However, the Danish side pulled a goal back through Martin Pusic a minute after Matri's effort.

The Serie A side restored their advantage six minutes later when Josip Illic scored after pouncing on a defensive mistake to rifle the ball home.

Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto had to be alert on a couple of occasions to deny the home side in the first half, but Vicenzo Montella's side were comfortable throughout the second period and take a commanding lead back to Italy.

Written by
Paul Gorst