fiorentina start fast to floor guingamp published: thursday 27 november 2014, 20.51cet ea guingamp 1-2 acf fiorentina two early goals left the home side with too much to do as the viola held on to secure first place in uefa europa league group k.
• viola confirm top spot in group k • marko marin and elhadji babacar score early for fiorentina • claudio beauvue's penalty cannot spark guingamp revival • exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the stade roudourou • next games: paok v guingamp, fiorentina v dinamo minsk (11 december)
acf fiorentina will finish top of uefa europa league group k after two early goals cramped ea guingamp's style in france.
a win might have confirmed guingamp's place in the round of 32, but while sambou yatabaré had a sight of goal just after the one-minute mark, jocelyn gourvennec's side were all but beaten inside 15 minutes.
guingamp looked to have cleared their lines after jonas lössl's save from elhadji babacar on six minutes, but were in disarray when alberto aquilani passed back into the penalty area, marko marin crashing the ball into the net. fiorentina shredded their hosts' defences again on 13 minutes, juan vargas collecting a long crossfield ball on the left and delivering a killer pass for babacar to dart into the box and clip past lössl.
guingamp were revived, though, after josé maria basanta was dismissed for a foul on sylvain marveaux in the area just before the break, claudio beauvue sending ciprian tătăruşanu the wrong way with the resulting penalty.
however, the second half was one of continuous frustration for guingamp. beauvue, moustapha diallo and christophe kerbrat all had sights of goal, tătăruşanu made a diving save from marveaux, and yatabaré rattled the crossbar with a firm header following another hopeful ball into the box. diallo found the net at the death but was flagged offside, and his team now face a serious challenge on matchday six, when they take on paok fc in greece with a place in the knockout stage at stake.
