MILAN — Fiorentina's fading hopes of qualifying for the Champions League all but disappeared Monday as it lost 1-0 at home to Verona after conceding a late goal, leaving it nine points behind third-placed AS Roma. Fiore was stunned in the 90th minute when Verona substitute Mounir Obbadi scored from close range after Alessandro Diamanti had missed a second-half penalty for the home side. Whistles greeted the end of the match and coach Vincenzo Montella had no complaints as his side paid dearly for failing to turn its domination into goals. “Everyone is free to do what they want,” he told the club's website. “We were not good enough to bring the three points.” When Alberto Gilardino was fouled by Verona keeper Rafael in the 65th minute and the referee pointed to the spot Diamanti stepped up but saw his penalty saved low down by Rafael. With that the Viola began to run out of ideas and Obbadi pounced when home keeper Neto failed to gather a shot from Lazaros Christodoulopoulos. The defeat leaves Fiore in sixth place on 49 points from 31 games, one place and a point behind Sampdoria which occupies the final Europa League qualifying spot. Fiorentina hosts Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League quarterfinals Thursday after the first leg ended 1-1. Elche edges Sociedad Jonathas took advantage of a defensive blunder to score in the first half, giving Elche a 1-0 home win against Real Sociedad in the Spanish league Monday. Poor control and hesitation by Sociedad midfielder Markel Bergara allowed Jonathas to steal the ball before racing away unchallenged to score his 10th goal of the season by beating Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli in the 18th minute. The win means Elche rises away from the relegation zone and is 14th in the standings on 34 points after 32 rounds, while Sociedad is two places above on 38. Barcelona leads the league on 78 points, two more than second-place Real Madrid. — Agencies
