‘Consistency is key’: are Fiorentina’s Serie A survival prospects improving?

Drama remains a constant companion but, bit by bit, Fiorentina’s Serie A survival prospects are improving.

At the turn of the year, when the club’s general manager Alessandro Ferrari outlined ambitious targets for the months ahead, it sounded like pie in the sky. Fiorentina, after all, fresh from a 1-0 defeat at Parma, remained rooted to the bottom of the table, with just nine points from 17 games. Their solitary win, a 5-1 hammering of Udinese, had come only after playing all but seven minutes against 10 men. 

Yet Ferrari saw cause for optimism, insisting Fiorentina have established a more positive trajectory since the arrival of Paolo Vanoli, who replaced Stefano Pioli as manager in early November. 

“The stats [on fitness levels, chance creation and possession] say we’re moving in the right direction,” said Ferrari. “But now, besides the statistics, we need results. 

Fiorentina Serie A survival prospects: what targets have been set?

“We’re going into 2026 determined and with very clear ideas. We’ve set ourselves some objectives. We think that with seven wins and eight draws, we can stay up. We have to focus on one game at a time, without looking at the league table: just think about getting those seven wins and eight draws. That’s the plan, and we must keep it in mind at all times.”

Whisper it quietly, but the early indications are that the plan, however improbable it might have seemed at the time, is beginning to come together. In their three games since Ferrari outlined the club’s targets, Fiorentina have beaten Cremonese and claimed creditable draws against Lazio and, on Sunday, title challengers AC Milan. Now they are up to 18th in the table and breathing down the neck of Genoa, who are two points ahead in 17th having played a game less.

Inevitably, in a season when Fiorentina have looked a shadow of the side that finished sixth last season, results tell only part of the story.

Why Fiorentina’s upturn has been far from straightforward

Against Cremonese, they needed a stoppage-time winner from substitute Moise Kean, whose involvement was a source of controversy after he had missed the build-up to the game after being granted leave to deal with a private matter. The cross that laid the groundwork for that 1-0 win was provided by Fiorentina new boy Manor Solomon, whose recent arrival from Tottenham Hotspur has caused a political wrangle over whether Israeli players should be barred. 

That was only the beginning. When Vanoli’s men travelled to Lazio three days later, and Albert Gudmundsson converted a penalty to give Fiorentina a 2-1 lead with a minute remaining, a second straight win seemed all but assured. But that was to reckon without Pietro Comuzzo conceding a stoppage-time penalty that left Robin Gosens, scorer of the visitors’ opener, reflecting somewhat guardedly on the team’s progress.

“Overall, we’re improving,” said Gosens after the 2-2 draw. “Had [the game] taken place three or four weeks ago, we would’ve already lost it in the first half. However, we stuck at it; everyone put their bodies on the line, and that’s really important. The team understands the situation we’re in.

Fiorentina Serie A survival hopes: ‘We need to be positive’

“We’re more resilient. Even if we suffer setbacks, we’re able to avoid slumping and keep believing in our qualities. The coach deserves credit for making it clear that we’re a good team and, even if games go like today, we’ve still got the quality to come out on top. I’m trying to see today’s game as a point gained, not two dropped. We need to be positive.”

It did and didn’t augur well for Sunday’s visit of second-placed Milan, where victory was once again squandered at the death as Christopher Nkunku cancelled out Pietro Comuzzo’s 66th-minute opener. 

The bottom line, though, is that after taking just five points from their first seven games under Vanoli, Fiorentina have now taken five of a possible nine in 2026. 

Fiorentina Serie A survival prospects: ‘Consistency is key’

“Consistency is key,” said Vanoli. We’re learning to respond well when things get hard, to always react. This led to a good performance.

“We need to stop thinking about the past and focus on the present. Since I joined the club, we’ve fixed many things. We’re still fixing others. When I arrived, I had to tell the players that they had a new goal, which was avoiding relegation. We must never forget that. 

“It’s not always about winning; it’s about being consistent. Believing that we must win at all costs can turn into a burden. And being consistent means playing as we did tonight.”

Next up is a trip to Bologna, who remain without a win in their past seven games after a weekend draw at Como. Results are on the upturn, and the cavalry is on the way: aside from Solomon, Marco Brescianini has arrived on loan from Atalanta, while Tottenham co-sporting director Fabio Paratici is expected to take up the role of head of technical affairs next month.

It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to keep Fiorentina up, but suddenly Ferrari’s objectives don’t seem quite so fantastical.