Viola own goal keeps AEK afloat

ACF Fiorentina scored at both ends as they were held by AEK Athens FC despite dominating for long spells at the OACA Spyro Louis Stadium.

Osvaldo opener
Fiorentina forward Pablo Daniel Osvaldo opened the scoring on 29 minutes only for team-mate Federico Balzaretti to deflect Júlio César's strike into his own net five minutes later. The draw takes the Viola, who needed a win to seal their place in the last 32, top of Group C with five points from three games.

Viola century
The match was Fiorentina's 100th in UEFA club competition but it came during a sad week following the death of the wife of coach Cesare Prandelli after a long illness. AEK, who were chasing their first victory in the group stage, controlled the opening exchanges yet it was the Italian side who could have broken the deadlock when Christian Vieri headed wide from Martin Jørgensen's cross.

Balzaretti mishap
While Dániel Tőzsér's shot forced visiting goalkeeper Sébastien Frey into a fine save midway through the half, Fiorentina took the lead through Osvaldo's right-footed effort from the edge of the area. Manú missed a golden chance to level the scores when failing to beat Frey in a one-on-one yet the Greek team soon got off the mark as Balzaretti diverted César's attempt into his own goal.

Osvaldo opportunities
The Serie A outfit held sway after the restart and should have gone in front only for an unmarked Osvaldo to shoot weakly at goalkeeper Moretto. On the hour, the Argentinian striker wasted another opportunity when failing to control Vieri's clever pass inside the box. With AEK struggling for cohesion, Fiorentina went in search of victory and almost found it. However, Fabio Liverani's free-kick just cleared the crossbar in what was the last opening of the game.