Portuguese duo impress as Fiorentina run up nine-goal tally in private friendly
Pedro Gonçalves and João Mário took full advantage of the international break to stake their claims in Firenze, with both Portuguese players starting and contributing to a 9-0 victory over Signa 1914 on Sunday morning.
The private friendly, played at the Rocco B. Commisso Viola Park training complex, pitted Paolo Vanoli's side against a team from Eccellenza — the fifth tier of Italian football.
Gonçalves, the Portugal international on loan from Sporting Clube de Portugal, needed just nine minutes to open the scoring. The 28-year-old collected a pass from Willy Gnonto on the left flank and struck a low, first-time shot from the edge of the area that found the bottom corner.
Two Portuguese players in the starting eleven
Gnonto doubled the lead a minute later, but the second half saw a flurry of goals. Marco Brescianin made it 3-0 from a free-kick at 47 minutes, before Mateo Pellegrino and Sulayman Jallow added their names to the scoresheet.
Jallow claimed his second in the 73rd minute, assisted by compatriot João Mário — the full-back on loan from Juventus — after the ball ricocheted through the area. Youngsters Brando Mazzeo, with two, and Mario Pietropaolo completed the scoring.
'Pote' finding his feet in Italy
Gonçalves, known in Portugal as 'Pote', joined Fiorentina on 1 September on a loan deal worth €2.5M that includes an option to buy for €22.5M, which can become mandatory if certain targets are met. The attacking midfielder had already opened his account officially, scoring in a 3-0 Coppa Italia win over Pisa on 15 September.
João Mário, 26, has also settled quickly. The right-back provided an assist on his debut in the same cup competition, setting up Moise Kean in a 4-1 win over Benevento.
Demanding schedule awaits after break
Fiorentina return to Serie A action on 10 October with an away fixture at Genoa, kicking off at 14:00 mainland Portugal time. Vanoli's squad then face a run of five matches in under a month: home to Como 1907 (18 October), away to Inter (25 October), home to Atalanta (29 October), away to Sassuolo at the Città del Tricolore (2 November), and a home clash against former club Juventus on 8 November.
Both Portuguese players will hope to build on Sunday's performance as the fixtures pile up.
