Europa Conference League early roundup: Fiorentina hit five, Djurgarden on song

Fiorentina - Hearts 5-1

Fiorentina took a huge step towards qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League knockouts by beating Hearts at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. La Viola are still yet to concede a first-half UECL goal after six games, including qualifiers.

A breathless first period started in electric fashion when Stephen Humphrys hit the post inside 30 seconds following a disguised pass from Barry Maguire. Unfortunately, for Robbie Neilson, it was one-way traffic in the other direction from then on out.

With six minutes on the clock, Luka Jovic nodded in a Cristiano Biraghi cross after a short corner to put the Italian side ahead.

Minutes later, Andy Halliday timed a slide tackle to perfection, denying Aleksa Terzic a shot at goal, and Rolando Mandragora struck the post before the floodgates truly opened.

Cristiano Biraghi doubled Fiorentina’s lead 22 minutes in with an exquisitely-placed free-kick for his first goal of the season. Hearts were subsequently picked apart by a team move culminating with Nicolás Gonzalez sweeping home a third.

Antonin Barak then got his name on the scoresheet, finishing off Christian Kouame’s cut-back to send the hosts into the break four goals to the good.

Presumably sick of Fiorentina’s goal horn and accompanying music, Hearts fans had something to cheer about immediately after the restart, as Humphrys tucked low past Pierluigi Gollini on the counter.

The hosts took their foot of the proverbial gas while the Jam Tarts changed approach, altering the complexion of the game, but ultimately the match was over as a contest.

With time almost up, Alex Cochrane brought down Riccardo Saponara in the box, leaving Gonzalez to delicately lift in Fiorentina’s fifth.

A win for Vincenzo Italiano’s side sees them end a run of three games without victory in UEFA group stage competition, widening the gap over Hearts to four points with just two games remaining. That leaves the Scottish side on the periphery of elimination, knowing that defeat against FK Rīgas Futbola Skola next time out would seal their fate.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina)

Check out the stats to the game with Flashscore.

Elsewhere around Europe

The other game in Fiorentina's group saw Basaksehir qualify for the latter stages of the competition with a convincing 3-0 win over RFS - Stefano Okaka netting twice.

In Group C, Villarreal continued their 100% record with a 1-0 victory over Austria Vienna. They had to wait until late on for the winner though, Nicolas Jackson scoring with three minutes left in normal time. The win confirms the Spanish side's place in the next round.

Partizan Belgrade went top of Group D with a 2-0 win over Cologne in the Serbian capital, whilst there was a shock in Group E as Apollon notched their first win of the campaign, beating current group leaders AZ Alkmaar 1-0 with Valentin Roberge scoring the winner midway through the first half. 

Swedish side Djugarden secured their progression into the knockouts, beating Gent 4-2 in Stockholm. Gustav Wikheim was the main architect for the Group F leaders, scoring twice in the win. In Group G, CFR Cluj and Slavia Prague's game was delayed for more than 15 minutes after a fan was taken ill in the stands. On the pitch, the Romanian side ran out 1-0 winners, but just three points stand between the teams in Group G with two games to go.

In Group H, Slovan Bratislava and Basel gave the fans some great entertainment in the Slovakian capital, sharing the spoils in a 3-3 draw.

For the full results and reports from the Europa Conference League, visit our dedicated site.