Simeone leads Fiorentina to 3-1 win over Empoli in Serie A

Rome, Dec 17 (IANS) Argentine forward Giovanni Simeone scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Fiorentina to a 3-1 win over Empoli, marking the club's first Serie A win in nearly three months.Fiorentina's eight-match winless drought seemed to be continuing as Bosnian midfielder Rade Krunic got Empoli on the scoreboard in the 24th minute.It took the home side a little more than a quarter hour to get the equalizer from Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas on a pass from Simeone on Sunday night, who scored his goal on a header shortly before the one-hour mark, reports Efe news.This was the second match in a row in which Simeone found the back of the net, confirming he recovered the killer instinct after and a scoreless drought for 11 matches.With 11 minutes to go before the second half stoppage time, Burkinabe midfielder Bryan Dabo rounded off Fiorentina's first win since its 2-0 victory over Atalanta on Sept. 30.After the win, Fiorentina temporarily holds eighth place, with 22 points, in the Serie A standings, on goal differential, ahead of Torino, while Empoli sits in the 15th spot, with 16 points.
--IANS kk/sed