Jovetić glad to be Viola's salvation

After scoring both goals in a crucial UEFA Champions League victory over Liverpool FC, ACF Fiorentina prodigy Steven Jovetić admitted "had we lost, we'd have probably gone out of the competition".

Best in show
The Viola's European campaign got off to a disappointing start with a 1-0 defeat at Olympique Lyonnais on Matchday 1 – a result that was compounded by the dismissal of striker Alberto Gilardino. With the Italy centre-forward suspended, it was imperative that someone took up the baton and produced a stand-out performance. The likes of Cristiano Zanetti, Marco Marchionni and Alessandro Gamberini all played fine supporting roles, but there was no question as to who was the star of the show.

Two-goal salvo
Jovetić gave notice of his threat in the 16th minute when he teed up Marchionni with a pinpoint cross which the midfielder sent over the bar with an overhead kick. He then tested Pepe Reina from distance before breaking the deadlock on 28 minutes, slipping through the offside trap to slide the ball past the Spanish goalkeeper. Nine minutes later, the 19-year-old struck again, pouncing to divert Juan Vargas' fierce strike over the line from close range. After resisting an improved Liverpool following the restart, Fiorentina held on for a win which puts them level on points with the Premier League side in Group E, three behind Lyon.

'Wonderful night'
"It's a wonderful night," Jovetić told uefa.com. "We won 2-0 against a great Liverpool side and it's incredible to get three points by playing so well. It was important to win tonight because had we lost we'd have probably gone out of the competition. It would have been really difficult to salvage anything after two defeats. We came up with a great performance but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. There are still four matches to go but we've given ourselves a great chance of progressing."