Gerardis hammers three past Empoli as Fiorentina run riot
A hat-trick from the Australian winger turned a tense Tuscan night into a purple carnival at the Artemio Franchi, where ten-man Empoli were swept aside 4-0.
The night belonged to Christos Gerardis, and he knew it before the rest of Florence did. Early in the second half, with Empoli already down to ten men and the game tilting, the Australian collected the ball on the left, cut inside onto his right and curled a low finish beyond Stefano Sgarra. The Artemio Franchi rose as one. Gerardis turned, arms wide, and let the noise wash over him. It was the moment the evening stopped being a contest and became a coronation.
Fiorentina won 4-0, and the scoreline barely tells of the strangeness of it. Empoli had more of the ball — 54 per cent to the hosts' 46 — and passed it more neatly, 457 completions to 383. Yet they managed a single shot all night, none on target, an expected-goals figure of 0.1 that reads like a misprint. Fiorentina, by contrast, fired 23 shots, 12 of them on target, for an expected 5.14. It was a match of beautiful, brutal imbalance.
The turning point came on 33 minutes, when Matías Curletto, booked eleven minutes earlier, was sent off. Until then Empoli had held their shape and their dignity; afterwards they were chasing shadows. Fiorentina's midfield, with Jofre Costa — a summer arrival from Barcelona — anchoring and Argemiro Villadiego filling the gap left by the injured Saikou Manneh, simply took the ball and kept it.
Gerardis was merciless. Three goals from six shots, four on target, four dribbles, and two key passes besides: a display of pure appetite. Beside him Cristian Fernández, who departed on 57 minutes, scored once and created four more chances. But it was Matteo Sarini, the right-back, who quietly assembled the evening: four assists, nine key passes, four interceptions, 12.8 kilometres run. The full-back as playwright — Florence has always loved an opera, and here was one written from the wings.
Gianpaolo Massimo, the centre-forward, will remember this night less fondly: ten shots, an expected 1.6 goals, and nothing to show for any of it. Empoli's discipline dissolved as the goals went in; six yellow cards and that red tell their own story, and Thomas Martelli, brought on at 58 minutes, was left to hold a back line that had already surrendered.
For Gerardis, a £9.0m signing from Olympique Lyonnais in June, this was the night his new public truly met him. He had started only four times before this; now the Curva will expect him every week. Destiny, as ever in this city, moves quickly.
And there is no time to linger. Lazio await Fiorentina tomorrow, and the purple faithful will travel south wondering whether the storm of this Sunday can be summoned again. On this evidence, they have every right to dream.