Hearts have fallen to a 3-0 defeat against Fiorentina in their latest Europa Conference League clash.
The Jambos headed into the bout with confidence after a 2-0 win over RFS on matchday two but they got nowhere near the Serie A club in a tough first half. It was 1-0 to the away side at Tynecastle inside three minutes after Rolando Mandragora's effort and Christian Kouame notched a bicycle kick before half-time to leave Robbie Neilson's men with a mountain to climb.
After a brighter start to the second half, it got so much harder for Hearts when Lewis Neilson was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity by pulling down Luka Jovic, although it wasn't clear whether or not he'd beat goalkeeper Craig Gordon to the ball. Jovic's goal finished off scoring on the night as Hearts sit third in Group A, one point behind the Florence outfit ahead of taking them on away from home next week. Here is how we rated the Hearts players.
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Craig Gordon - 7
20 years to the day of his first Hearts outing, the goalkeeper made a number of key stops to ensure the scoring was kept to as low as he could make possible.
Michael Smith - 6
Tough night amid wave after wave of Fiorentina attack. Looked slightly beat for pace but used experience where possible to steady himself. Struggled with injury in the second.
Stephen Kingsley - 6
Won his fitness race to make this one but rode high into an early challenge that only warranted a booking. A pleasant sight amid a raft of defensive concerns.
Lewis Neilson - 5
Caught idle for the first goal and was then sent off for a silly tug on Jovic. Perhaps unfortunate to see red as there was an argument to be made for Gordon being the last man.
Jorge Grant - 5
Hooked 10 minutes into the second half. Fiorentina were walking through the Jambos and he couldn't do much to stop it Caught ball-watching with Neilson for the first goal.
Kio - 5
Another in Neilson's engine room that got overrun. Struggled to get near some of the Italian midfield and cut a frustrated figure at times.
Lawrence Shankland - 5
Isolate up front and didn't get a sniff of any chances before being sacrificed as part of the subs following Neilson's departure from play.
Andy Halliday - 6
An energetic shift and was unfortunate with an audacious volley in the second half. One of the few who tried to get in the faces of Fiorentina although a difficult night for him too.
Barrie McKay - 6
Starved of service but when he got it he showed glimpses of the magic which has lit up the Premiership so far this season. Too little of those moments came though.
Alex Cochrane - 6
One of the others who did their best to try and hurry the away side into mistakes. Couldn't do it all on his own but did a decent enough job against Kouame. Left exposed for the third goal.
Josh Ginnelly - 5
Got in behind on the stroke of half-time and the game could have been so different had he converted his big chance. Did little outside that.
Stephen Humphrys - 6
A real positive impression from the bench. Drove at his opponents with real power and his physicality proved an issue despite his team being down to 10 men.
Cammy Devlin - 5
Benched after his reckless red card against Rangers at the weekend but looked keen to atone for his error. A one-man pressing machine at times as teammates tired.
Nathaniel Atkinson - 4
Provided more attacking impetus down the right-hand-side but found the defensive side of things more difficult against top players.
Alan Forrest - 3
Late sub to try and spark a dramatic comeback but the third goal killed his chances.
Gary Mackay-Steven - 3
Much the same story as Forrest on his first European outing for Hearts.
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