Kean's Hat-Trick Helps Fiorentina Close Gap to Serie A Leaders Napoli

Moise Kean starred with a hat-trick as Fiorentina claimed a 3-1 victory over Verona, leveling on points with Serie A leaders Napoli. The Italy forward's first-ever professional hat-trick helped his team move up to third place with 25 points, maintaining their strong run with a sixth consecutive league win.

Kean opened the scoring early in the fourth minute with a clinical finish and added a second shortly before the hour mark with an acrobatic flick. Verona's Suat Serdar had earlier leveled the match in the 18th minute. The 24-year-old completed his treble in stoppage time, collecting a long pass from goalkeeper David de Gea and firing home to seal the win.

Since joining Fiorentina from Juventus in the summer, Kean has netted 11 goals across all competitions, reviving his career after a goal-less season at Juve last year.

Fiorentina's manager, Raffaele Palladino, spoke highly of Kean's work ethic and talent, saying, "I can't deny that I wanted him when I was at Monza, I think he's a great striker... It's also down to the team, everyone defended and attacked together today."

With the win, Fiorentina remained in third place, trailing Napoli, who are set to play against Inter Milan later on Sunday. Atalanta, who also earned a 2-1 victory over Udinese, sit second but are still behind Napoli, having played one more match.

Atalanta's win extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches, with Mario Pasalic's second-half equalizer and an own goal from Udinese's Isaak Toure securing the three points. Gian Piero Gasperini's side has been in impressive form, winning six consecutive Serie A matches.

Atalanta's supporters were in high spirits, with chants of "we're going to win the league" following the team's comeback victory. However, Gasperini downplayed the title talk, saying, "You can't stop fans from dreaming... but the reality is that there's no point talking about the Scudetto now. If we're still up there with seven or eight games to go then we'll start thinking about it but for now it's completely pointless."

Despite their form, both Fiorentina and Atalanta face a tough task to overtake Napoli, who remain in control of the league ahead of their clash with Inter.