Lecce snatches incredible victory from jaws of defeat
Lecce picked up all three points in its Serie A tussle with Fiorentina, winning 3-2 after pulling off one of the greatest escapes of the season by scoring an equaliser and a winner in the final minutes of the match.
Lecce, which is struggling to gain any momentum in the middle of the table, hit the bar early in the contest but eventally went ahead in the 17th minute when Remi Oudin curled home a free-kick from the edge of the box.
The hosts stuck the frame of the goal once more before half-time when Nikola Krstovic turned to shoot, but missed the target and hit the right post with his effort.
However, Fiorentina was level five minutes after the break when substitute Rolando Mandragona did what was asked of him and fired home from just outside the box.
Lucas Beltran then added a second for the visitors on 67 minutes when he pressed high up the field and forced a catastrophic defenisve mix-up for the home side.
Andrea Belotti, who was also brought on at half-time, then hit the bar as the visitors looked to seal the deal with a third goal.
But with time ticking away and Fiorentina seemingly set to walk away with the points, all hell broke loose.
A reasonably innocuous free-kick was hoisted into the box, and with the visiting defence unable to clear, Piccoli took full advantage and rose highest to nod home an equaliser from out of nowhere.
From the restart and buoyed by raucous home support, Lecce stole possession again and charged forward, creating a chance for Krstovic, which was saved, but the ball fell perfectly for Patrick Dorgu, who blasted home before sprinting into the crowd in wild celebrations.
