Fiorentina 5-1 Hearts: Conference League hopes hang by a thread for Scots

Luka Jovic's aboriginal header acceptable Fiorentina connected their way

Hearts were thrashed by a rampant Fiorentina to permission their Conference League progression hopes hanging successful the balance.

Stephen Humphrys pulled 1 backmost for the visitors wrong the archetypal 2 minutes of the 2nd half, but Gonzalez restored the four-goal cushion from the punishment spot.

It means Hearts present person to triumph their 2 remaining radical games against RFS and runaway radical leaders Istanbul Basaksehir, and anticipation that Fiorentina lone instrumentality a maximum of 1 constituent from their remaining fixtures.

• Reaction & arsenic it happened

Fiorentina person struggled domestically each season, winning conscionable 2 games successful Serie A. They came into this crippled disconnected the backmost of a 4-0 decision to Lazio connected Monday, and Hearts, sensing a imaginable vulnerability, astir made the cleanable start.

Sofyan Amrabat played an uncharacteristically escaped walk into midfield, wherever Barrie McKay was lurking. The diminutive winger fed Humphrys, and the erstwhile Wigan striker - successful from the commencement up of Lawrence Shankland - changeable crossed Pierluigi Gollini, but saw his debased onslaught travel backmost disconnected the post.

It seemed to shingle Fiorentina into life, arsenic they archetypal forced a bully prevention retired of Gordon, and past took the lead.

A abbreviated country caught Hearts cold, and a pin-point transverse from location skipper Biraghi picked retired Jovic conscionable extracurricular the six-yard box. The erstwhile Real Madrid antheral was wholly unmarked and made nary mistake, heading down into the corner.

Rolando Mandragora struck a fierce changeable that crashed distant disconnected the station with Gordon thing much than a bystander, but the hosts didn't person to hold agelong earlier they doubled their lead.

After a brushed free-kick went Fiorentina's mode connected the borderline of the Hearts area, Biraghi struck a beautifully judged free-kick up and implicit the partition into the apical corner. The grant of the free-kick was harsh, but Fiorentina were afloat deserving of their two-goal lead.

Things went from atrocious to worse for Hearts connected the half-hour mark. Some intricate passing connected the borderline of visitors' container opened up the Tynecastle broadside again, and aft Jovic fto Kouame's walk done his legs, Gonzalez was connected manus to rotation a changeable backmost crossed Gordon and into the acold corner.

As Fiorentina sliced done Hearts astatine will, the 4th extremity seemed astir inevitable, and definite enough, the distant extremity was breached again connected 38 minutes. Barak recovered Kouame wrong the Hearts box, and the Ivorian had each the clip successful the satellite to propulsion the shot backmost to his team-mate, who made nary mistake from 12 yards.

Hearts came retired swinging aft the interruption though, possibly with Robbie Neilsen's words ringing successful their ears, and conscionable arsenic successful the archetypal half, Humphrys was enactment successful connected goal, this clip rolling a debased changeable beyond Gollini.

Credit to Hearts, they enactment up much of a combat successful the 2nd half, but the crippled was already mislaid and Fiorentina had intelligibly taken their ft disconnected the gas. When the hosts did click into gear, they broke into the Hearts box, Alex Cochrane kicked retired astatine Riccardo Saponara and the referee showed nary hesitation successful pointing to the spot.

Gonzalez stepped up and coolly sent Gordon the incorrect mode to notch his 2nd extremity of the evening and Fiorentina's fifth.

Shankland, introduced disconnected the bench, saw a speculative effort drift onto the extortion of the nett aft helium spotted Gollini disconnected his line, but Fiorentina comfortably saw retired the past 10 minutes to unafraid a resounding location win.

More to follow.