Hearts 0-3 Fiorentina: Ten-man hosts fall to chastening Europa Conference League defeat
- Published
Christian Kouame impressively doubled Fiorentina's lead before half-time
Hearts were outclassed by slick Fiorentina in a Europa Conference League defeat at Tynecastle that deals a severe blow to their knockout hopes.
By the time of home defender Lewis Neilson's straight red soon after the interval, the Italians were already two goals up through Rolando Mandragora and Christian Kouame in a dominant display.
Luka Jovic made up for several misses with a late third to complete Hearts' misery as Fiorentina replaced Robbie Neilson's men in second with their first win of Group A.
And with trips to Florence and leaders Istanbul Basaksehir - who drew 0-0 away to Rigas FS - to come, the odds are firmly stacked against Hearts progressing beyond their first European group-stage campaign in 18 years.
Fiorentina's shaky form - one win in 10 matches - had given Hearts reason to believe in a famous European triumph.
Those hopes were soon extinguished in a nightmare start, Mandragora running unopposed to plant a simple header beyond Craig Gordon from Aleksa Terzic's cross.
It was a sign of the dominance to come. Hearts sat deep and invited pressure that came in droves as Fiorentina pelted in 11 first-half shots while enjoying 71% possession.
Hearts were in danger of overrun as the Italians oozed quality. Jovic - who cost Real Madrid £50m three years ago - could have had a hat-trick in the opening half hour, while defender Igor ambled forward and had a rasping drive tipped wide drove.
The hosts were chasing shadows and, just as they looked set to make it to the break one down, Kouame acrobatically fired past Gordon after the defence failed to clear.
The only sliver of hope came right on the whistle when Josh Ginnelly was denied by goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini's flailing leg.
But within minutes of the restart, Hearts' comeback task took on mission impossible proportions as Neilson tugged Jovic's shirt as the striker broke clear and the red was brandished.
Gordon repelled efforts from Jovic and Terzic, while Riccardo Saponara curled over, but the third finally arrived when Kouame teed up Jovic to finally find the net and put a more realistic complexion on the scoreline.
Player of the match - Christian Kouame
The Ivory Coast forward, left, looks a top operator. He scored one and set up another in his first start of the group stage
Meek Hearts go down without a fight - analysis
Fiorentina are clearly a superior side, laden with quality, but Hearts were far too timid and neve gave themselves a fighting chance. They can count themselves fortunate that the Italians didn't match Basaksehir's four-goal win here.
A lack of aggression isn't often a criticism that can be levelled at Neilson's side, yet they didn't get close to Fiorentina and the manager's tactics will come under the microscope. The low block left lone striker Lawrence Shankland completely isolated in a chastening first half.
Hearts at least showed more grit and fight with 10 men than they mustered with 11. But overall it was a wretched evening for them and captain Gordon, 20 years to the day since his debut for the club.
What did they say?
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: "We're disappointed with the result, but you've got to be proud of the players and the club to get to this level.
"The disappointment for me was that the three goals were preventable. For all the possession they had, and movement of the ball, the first two goals are just balls into the box that we really should deal with."
What's next?
Hearts visit Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday (15:00 BST) before completing their Fiorentina double-header in Florence next Thursday (17:45).