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Gift Orban continued his impressive Serie A form on Sunday, scoring a late brace to secure Hellas Verona’s dramatic 2–1 victory over Fiorentina, Footynaija.com reports.
The Nigerian forward was named on the bench for a third consecutive game but was introduced in the 35th minute after Giovane Nascimento was forced off injured. Orban made an immediate impact, opening the scoring just seven minutes later with a composed finish at the end of a rapid counter-attack.
Two-goal Gift Orban is the Panini Player of the Match for #FiorentinaVerona! pic.twitter.com/ze8w2KQjf5
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 14, 2025
Fiorentina levelled in the 69th minute through an unfortunate Unai Núñez own goal and piled on the pressure as Verona were pushed deep. However, Orban delivered the decisive moment in stoppage time, beating David de Gea at his near post in the 93rd minute to earn Verona only their second league win of the season.
With four goals in 12 Serie A appearances,
Orban is now Nigeria’s top scorer in Italy this campaign. Ademola Lookman has two goals, while Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Honest Ahanor are yet to score.
Gift Orban’s brace gave Verona three points over Fiorentina #FiorentinaVerona pic.twitter.com/axuCochs37
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 15, 2025
Verona defender Armel Bella-Kotchap praised Orban after the game, saying: “I’m really happy for him (Orban). He was exceptional, played a very important match and helped us win with his two goals. He, like the whole team, must continue like this.”
Hellas Verona head coach Paolo Zanetti also reserved special praise for the TSG Hoffenheim loanee.
“I’m very happy for him,” Zanetti said as per Spaziocalcio.
“In recent matches, I had chosen Mosquera for his characteristics, but I’ve always said Orban is an important player. Today, he put a big step forward for us.”
Despite the win, Verona remain 18th in the table but extend their unbeaten run to two matches. They now turn their attention to a difficult away fixture against AC Milan as they aim to climb out of the relegation zone.
