Nigeria forward Gift Orban bags brace to lead Hellas Verona to overcome Fiorentina 2-1

Nigerian forward Gift Orban delivered a match-winning performance on Sunday, scoring twice to propel Hellas Verona to a crucial 2-1 victory over Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

After sitting out Verona’s shock 3-1 win over Atalanta in midweek, Orban began the Serie A encounter on the bench as the Gialloblu travelled to Florence.

Fiorentina were slight favourites going into the contest, but with both sides battling near the relegation zone, the outcome remained finely balanced.

Orban’s chance came midway through the first half when Giovane was forced off through injury after 35 minutes.

Head coach Paolo Zanetti turned to the Nigerian striker, a decision that immediately injected pace and intent into Verona’s attack despite Fiorentina enjoying most of the possession.

Just seven minutes after coming on, Orban made his presence felt. He brought down a pass from Al Musrati on the edge of the area before firing a composed effort into the bottom-right corner to hand Verona the lead, which they protected going into the break.

The hosts pressed hard after the restart, creating chances through Moise Kean, Nicolò Fagioli and Simon Sohm, but Verona stood firm. Fiorentina eventually drew level in the 69th minute when defender Unai Nunez accidentally turned the ball into his own net.

As the game drifted towards a draw, Orban once again proved decisive. Deep into stoppage time, the striker connected with a pass from Antoine Bernede inside the box and calmly slotted a low shot into the bottom-left corner, sealing a dramatic 2-1 away victory for Hellas Verona.