ACF Fiorentina finally brought an end to their nine-match winless streak in all competitions (D3, L6) with a hard-fought 2–1 victory over a struggling Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Conference League. The result lifts the Italian side—at least temporarily—into the top eight of the league-phase standings.

Despite their poor form and the weight of still being winless in Serie A this season, Fiorentina began brightly and created the first major opening of the match. Dodo delivered a superb cross toward Edin Džeko, but the veteran striker’s header sailed narrowly over the bar after he rose above Vladyslav Zakharchenko, a defender 20 years his junior.

Džeko’s frustration only grew in the 17th minute when his goalbound shot was accidentally blocked by his own teammate, Moise Kean. The forward’s follow-up attempt was then stopped by goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret.

But Kean quickly made amends. Just a minute later, he powered home another pinpoint cross from Dodo to give Fiorentina a deserved lead. The goal lifted the hosts’ confidence, and Kean nearly added a second just before the break, driving into the box but failing to make clean contact with his effort.

As halftime approached, the only real irritation for head coach Paolo Vanoli—aside from his team not extending their lead—was a booking for Cher Ndour, ruling the midfielder out of Fiorentina’s final league-phase match away to Lausanne-Sport next Thursday.

On the opposite bench, recently appointed Dynamo coach Ihor Kostiuk had seen little to trouble David de Gea in the Fiorentina goal during the first half. That changed shortly after the restart. De Gea first denied Nazar Voloshyn with a strong save in the 54th minute, but just a minute later he could do nothing to stop Mykola Mykhaylenko’s thunderous strike, which capped off a sweeping Dynamo move and levelled the score.

Fiorentina immediately pushed to restore their advantage. Kean struck the side-netting from a corner, while Mykhaylenko tested his luck again at the other end and Eduardo Guerrero headed over. The match seemed poised for a tense finish.

Ultimately, substitute Albert Gudmundsson delivered the decisive moment. In the 74th minute, after Neshcheret parried Kean’s shot, Gudmundsson reacted fastest to smash in the rebound and put Fiorentina back in front.

Kean had another late chance to seal the game, but Fiorentina—twice finalists in this competition back when it was known as the UEFA Europa Conference League—held firm to keep their hopes of another deep run alive. For Dynamo Kyiv, however, qualification looks increasingly unlikely as they sit a distant 28th in the table.