FLORENCE, ITALY — The Stadio Artemio Franchi crackled with the anxious, edgy atmosphere of a ground that knows what's at stake. Two sides rooted in the lower reaches of Serie A, separated by nine points and a chasm of confidence, collided on a day where three points felt less like a bonus and more like a lifeline. Fiorentina delivered, grinding out a 1-0 victory over Pisa thanks to Moise Kean's early strike and a crucial late save from David de Gea that preserved every precious point.
Kean needed just 13 minutes to break the deadlock, and he did so with the kind of composed, purposeful finish that belies the pressure swirling around the Viola's season. Picking up possession in the centre of the box, the Italian international drove a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner, giving Pisa goalkeeper Nícolas no chance. It was a goal that settled Fiorentina's nerves and set the tone for a dominant first half in which the hosts controlled the tempo and territory with authority.
Pisa, sitting 19th with just 15 points from 26 games, arrived at the Franchi desperate but disorganised. Their opening 45 minutes offered little to suggest they could turn the tide, and Fiorentina's 56.4% possession advantage reflected a side that dictated the rhythm without ever truly cutting loose. Niccolò Fagioli was a constant presence in midfield, probing and pressing, and he came close to doubling the lead in the 52nd minute when his right-footed effort from outside the box forced Nícolas into a sharp save, pushing the shot away at the top centre of the goal.
The second half brought a different energy. Pisa's coaching staff sent on three fresh faces at the interval—Michel Aebischer, Henrik Meister, and Rafiu Durosinmi—and the visitors grew into the contest. The referee was busy throughout, brandishing six yellow cards in a feisty affair that saw tempers fray on both sides. Juan Cuadrado, introduced from the bench in the 68th minute, picked up a booking in the 79th for a bad foul on Kean, while Jacopo Fazzini and Giovanni Fabbian were both cautioned for Fiorentina deep in stoppage time. Marius Marin had already seen yellow for Pisa in the 62nd minute, adding to the combustible nature of a match with genuine desperation running through it.
Fiorentina's shot count of 15 to Pisa's 7 underlined their dominance, but the visitors refused to simply roll over. Nícolas was the busier goalkeeper across the 90 minutes, making four saves to de Gea's one—but that one save, arriving in the 90th+5th minute, proved the defining moment of the match. Rosen Bozhinov rose to meet Michel Aebischer's delivery from the left and powered a header goalward, only for de Gea to claw it away at the top centre of the goal. It was a stop that drew gasps from the home faithful and confirmed what the scoreboard already showed: Fiorentina would leave with all three points.
The Fiorentina substitutions shaped the closing stages, with Pietro Comuzzo, Jacopo Fazzini, and Roberto Piccoli all introduced as the hosts looked to manage the game and, when possible, extend their lead. Piccoli went close in added time, but Nícolas stood firm to keep the margin at one. Cher Ndour also tested the Pisa stopper with a well-struck effort from outside the box in the 87th minute, only to be denied by a fine save to the top right corner.
For Fiorentina, sitting 16th with 24 points, this was exactly the kind of grinding, unglamorous win that survival battles are built on. These three points represent a crucial step in their fight to escape the relegation zone, where every victory carries outsized importance. Pisa, meanwhile, remain in deep trouble at 19th, their single league win all season a damning statistic that tells its own story of a team struggling to find any consistency or momentum in their battle to stay up.
The pressure mounts with Udinese on the horizon for Fiorentina on March 1, while Pisa must dust themselves off before a daunting trip to Bologna on the same date. Both sides know that the fixture list offers little respite, and the next two weeks will prove crucial in determining which team can claw their way toward safety and which will continue their descent toward the abyss.