Franco Mastantuono's Stunning Hat-Trick on Fiorentina Debut
Franco Mastantuono needed only one night in Venice to announce himself to Serie A.
On his Fiorentina debut, the 18-year-old forward on loan from Real Madrid scored a stunning hat-trick as Vincenzo Italiano’s side surged to a 4-2 lead against Venezia on matchday four, turning an awkward away fixture into his own personal showcase.
A comeback written in two left-footed strikes
Venezia struck first, unsettling Fiorentina and the teenager making his first appearance in purple. Mastantuono had already shown flashes – tidy touches, sharp movement, a willingness to drift into dangerous pockets on the right – but the game changed in a blur midway through the first half.
The clock hit 29 minutes. Mastantuono received the ball on the right side of the Viola attack, just outside the box. One touch to set himself, another to open the angle, then a crisp left-footed drive that bent beyond the Venezia goalkeeper. Level. Statement made.
Before the home side could reset, he did it again.
Barely 96 seconds later, Fiorentina worked the ball back to the same flank. Mastantuono found space in almost the same corridor of the pitch, again shaping onto his left from outside the area. Same foot, same intent, same ruthless outcome. Another strike, another stunned goalkeeper, another roar from the away end.
In the space of one minute and 36 seconds, the teenager had flipped the match, turning a deficit into a 2-1 lead and silencing the stadium. Two near-identical goals, both from distance, both hit with the kind of conviction that belongs to players who don’t wait to be invited onto the big stage.
Late flourish to complete the hat-trick
Fiorentina tightened their grip after the break, and Mastantuono refused to fade from the story. While the tempo dropped and legs tired, he kept hunting for gaps between Venezia’s defenders, drifting centrally, then peeling wide, always asking a question.
The answer came again in the 84th minute.
This time there was no long-range strike. Instead, Mastantuono produced a piece of close-quarters brilliance inside the six-yard box. He took on the Venezia goalkeeper in a tight space, showed composure and quick feet, and slipped the ball past him to make it 4-1 to Fiorentina at that moment and complete his hat-trick.
Three goals, each different in their construction, all carrying the same message: this was no tentative debut. This was a takeover.
With the job done and the match firmly under control, he left the pitch in the 88th minute to make way for a substitution, his night’s work complete. The scoreboard read 2-4 in Fiorentina’s favour in Venice, and Mastantuono walked off having turned a routine league fixture into a landmark moment.
For Fiorentina, it was a vital away win. For Mastantuono, it felt like the beginning of something far bigger.
