Fiorentina coach Stefano Pioli at risk following loss to Lecce; Inter beats Verona
ROME (AP) — Fiorentina’s crisis deepened with a 1-0 loss at home to Lecce on Sunday that left the Viola winless through 10 rounds of Serie A and put coach Stefano Pioli’s job at serious risk.
Medon Berisha volleyed midway through the first half for Lecce after Fiorentina midfielder Cher Ndour lost control near mid-field.
A VAR review erased a penalty chance for Fiorentina in the second half.
Pioli was hired when previous Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino unexpectedly left after guiding the club to a sixth-place finish last season.
Pioli led AC Milan to the Serie A title in 2022 then coached Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia before joining Fiorentina.
Fiorentina remained next to last, one point above Genoa. Lecce moved up to 15th.
On Saturday, Fiorentina announced that it had terminated the contract of sporting director Daniele Prade by mutual consent. Now, Pioli could be the next one out.
Own goal for Inter
Earlier, Inter Milan moved within one point of Serie A leader Napoli with a 2-1 win at Hellas Verona that was decided with a stoppage-time own goal.
Piotr Zielinski put Inter ahead early on when Inter executed a set piece from a corner kick. Giovane equalized for Verona before the break.
Then Pio Esposito’s presence led to an inadvertent header into his own goal from Martin Frese three minutes into added time.
Also, Torino and Pisa drew 2-2.
Later, Roma had a chance to take the lead with a win at AC Milan.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer