Franco Mastantuono's Hat-Trick Leads Fiorentina to 4-2 Victory
Franco Mastantuono tore up the script and dragged Fiorentina to a vital 4-2 win at Venezia, announcing himself in Serie A with a hat-trick and a slice of history.
For a while, though, it looked like Fiorentina were in trouble.
Akor Adams struck first for the hosts in the 22nd minute, punishing a sluggish Viola start and giving Venezia belief that an upset was on. Fiorentina looked flat, second to loose balls, and short of ideas in the final third.
Then Mastantuono took over.
The 19-year-old Argentine flipped the match inside a minute. In the 29th minute he struck his first, and before Venezia could reset, he hit again in the 30th. Two ruthless finishes, two hammer blows. The game’s rhythm changed instantly: Fiorentina suddenly moved with purpose, Venezia retreated, and every Viola attack seemed to run through the teenager in the No. 10 role.
Venezia tried to regroup after the break, but the pressure kept building. The visitors started to pin them back, and the third goal felt inevitable. It arrived on 66 minutes, this time from Matteo Pellegrino, who capped a flowing move to make it 3-1 and give Fiorentina breathing space.
Still, Mastantuono wasn’t finished.
As Venezia pushed late on, chasing a way back into the contest, the Real Madrid loanee struck again in the 84th minute to complete his hat-trick and kill off any doubt. Antony Haino’s late reply for the hosts only trimmed the scoreline; the night belonged entirely to the young Argentine.
His numbers told their own story. According to ESPN, Mastantuono has now overtaken compatriot Lionel Messi as the youngest Argentine to score a hat-trick in one of Europe’s five major leagues. At 19 years and 28 days, he is 231 days younger than Messi was when the Barcelona legend hit his first career treble, against Real Madrid on 10 March 2007.
These were Mastantuono’s first goals for Fiorentina since joining on a one-season loan from Real Madrid. Remarkably, the treble already pulls him level with his entire goal tally from 35 matches for the Spanish giants last season.
One night in Venezia, three goals, one record broken. Fiorentina may only have him for a year, but if this is the standard, Serie A is about to get a very close look at Real Madrid’s next big thing.
