Vieri fires Fiorentina through

Veteran striker Christian Vieri came off the bench to fire a second-half goal which secured ACF Fiorentina maximum points against FK Mladá Boleslav and a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Mutu opener
Adrian Mutu had put Fiorentina ahead from the penalty spot a minute before half-time, and the Czech club equalised on the hour mark through Jan Rajnoch's terrific drive. However, Vieri scored with an excellent volley just five minutes after coming on to send Fiorentina through in second spot in Group C behind Villarreal CF and end Mladá Boleslav's challenge.

Pazzini efforts
The visitors may have struck the first meaningful effort on goal, Rajnoch's shot being blocked by defender Dario Dainelli, but it was the Viola who looked the more threatening early on as Giampaolo Pazzini sent a shot wide before getting on the end of a Manuel Pasqual cross and flashing a left-footed effort just over. Moments later Fiorentina squandered another decent chance as Fabio Liverani's free-kick found the head of Mutu and the Romanian headed wide.

Penalty
Just as Mladá Boleslav looked like they would go in level at the break, Václav Procházka brought down Pazzini in the area and Mutu smashed in the resulting penalty. Fiorentina played with urgency after the break without adding to their tally, and were caught with a sucker-punch as Rajnoch beat Cristiano Lupatelli with a fierce drive from range with half an hour to play.

Instant impact
Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli responded by bringing Pazzini off and his replacement Vieri made an immediate impact, getting on the end of Liverani's pass and volleying in to put the Italian side back in front. Vieri almost made the game safe soon after, but the veteran striker sent another volley from the edge of the box just over the bar.