Fiorentina enter the restart with only six Serie A goals from five rounds, yet the figures behind their rebuilt forward line suggest a more productive chapter may be waiting. Paolo Vanoli’s arrival has brought a clearer attacking threat after a difficult opening, and the trip to Genoa will offer another measure of whether that change can last.
The first two league matches, against Roma and Frosinone, left the club without a goal and with seven conceded. Those results brought the end of Fabio Grosso’s spell on the bench, with Vanoli taking over a side still trying to settle after a substantial summer overhaul in attack.
Quick facts
- Fiorentina have scored six goals in five Serie A fixtures.
- The four main summer attacking arrivals scored 40 goals between them last season.
- Franco Mastantuono leads Fiorentina’s league scorers with three goals.
- Mateo Pellegrino has two Serie A goals and is expected to start at Genoa.
- Beto is away with Guinea-Bissau and is still seeking his first Fiorentina goal.
Pedro Gonçalves, Mateo Pellegrino, Beto and Mastantuono arrived to reshape the department previously led by Moise Kean and Albert Gudmundsson. Gudmundsson was the only one of that pair to reach double figures in all competitions in 2025-26, while Kean finished on nine.
The four newcomers bring a recent record that Fiorentina will hope can be reproduced in Tuscany. Gonçalves struck 15 times for Sporting, Pellegrino scored 12 for Parma, Beto registered 10 with Everton and Mastantuono added three at Real Madrid.
Mastantuono has made the quickest impact. The Argentine, on loan from Real Madrid, scored all three of his league goals in the match at Venezia and has emerged as Fiorentina’s leading scorer despite his age and his new surroundings.
Reaching 10 goals is a personal target for the forward, who is looking to carry that momentum through the season. His hat-trick at Venezia also contained Pellegrino’s first league goal for the club.
Pellegrino has since scored again, finding the net against Torino at the Artemio Franchi. That goal did not prevent a 2-1 defeat in Grosso’s final period in charge, but it has helped establish the former Parma striker ahead of Beto in the early pecking order.
The remaining league goal came from Jimenez, whose equaliser against Napoli arrived in Fiorentina’s last home match before the international break. Under Vanoli, the side have looked more capable of creating danger, even if the return remains modest for now.
Beto has not yet found his rhythm after arriving from Everton and has appeared less ready than Pellegrino. His career record, however, points to a striker accustomed to reaching double figures, and Fiorentina believe time rather than a lack of pedigree is the issue.
With Beto on international duty for Guinea-Bissau, Pellegrino is set to lead the line again in Genoa. Beto could still become a significant option from the bench once he returns, particularly as the schedule begins to test the depth of Vanoli’s attacking choices.
Vanoli is also waiting for greater output from Wilfried Gnonto and Njie, the wide forwards who complete the group. Both retain the coach’s full confidence and have been asked to add more goals to the team’s game.
Gnonto scored only once for Leeds last season, although he had reached nine goals in the campaign before that. He has already found the net in the Coppa Italia this term, alongside Pellegrino, Luca Ranieri, Cher Ndour and Gonçalves.
Gonçalves remains another important case for the new coach. His numbers at Sporting show the instincts of a regular scorer, but his immediate task in Florence is to recover full physical sharpness during the break.
For Fiorentina, the story is not yet one of a free-scoring attack. It is a side with several new forwards, one young loanee already making his mark, and a coach trying to turn the potential of a 40-goal summer quartet into points on Serie A Sundays.
