Fiorentina's early spark dimmed by Deportivo's late equaliser

Ndour opened the scoring for Fiorentina while Atta dazzled on the wing and Kean came close to a double, giving the Viola an early edge before Deportivo equalised in the closing minutes, prompting a visibly angry Fabio Grosso to leave the pitch.

Grosso stuck to a 4‑3‑2‑1 shape, placing Dragusin and Ranieri centrally, Joao Mario on the right, Valdepenas on the left, while Fagioli partnered Ndour and Brescianini on the flanks and Atta and Gudmundsson supported Kean behind the striker.

The first breakthrough arrived after 17 minutes when Atta recovered the ball, surged forward, forced Riki into a foul and earned a penalty; Fagioli’s spot‑kick rebounded off Dragusin and Ndour volleyed home.

Earlier, Joao Mario had sparked a promising move that finished with Valdepenas’s shot wide, Kean missed a clear chance for a second goal after a pass from Gudmundsson, and Joao Mario struck the cross‑bar, after which play was halted briefly by a power outage.

Deportivo altered its attack, producing a cross from Eddachouri, while Grosso gave space to Mandragora, Viery and second‑choice keeper Christensen, later adding Dodo and Jimenez on the left; a back‑pass handled by De Gea’s deputy awarded a penalty that Nsongo Bil saw deflected into the net.

The match concluded 1‑1, leaving Grosso angry on the sidelines; supporters had waited for Franco Mastantuono, who arrived at Peretola in the late afternoon but did not enter Il Viola Park.

Oulai missed the game with flu syndrome, meaning the planned experiment of sharing duties with Fagioli remains postponed.

The encounter served as the final test before the official season launch, with Fiorentina set to debut on 14 August in the Coppa Italia against the winner of the Ravenna‑Benevento tie.