Fiorentina rises out of Serie A drop zone and Bologna beats Udinese

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Moise Kean scored for the third match in a row to help Fiorentina beat Pisa 1-0 and climb out of the Serie A drop zone on Monday.

The result lifted Fiorentina into 16th place and out of the relegation zone for the first time in months. It has the same amount of points as Cremonese and Lecce but was above both on goal difference.

Pisa, which has still won only once all season, was second to last with the same points as last-placed Verona. Both clubs were nine points from safety with 12 games remaining.

Kean followed recent goals against Torino and Como with an early strike from close range after a blocked shot fell kindly at his feet.

Pisa goalkeeper Nícolas made several fine saves while Fiorentina’s second win in a row was only its second clean sheet of the year.

Pisa has gone 15 matches without a league win.

Later, a second-half penalty gave Bologna a 1-0 win over Udinese and lifted it two places into eighth.

Federico Bernardeschi scored from the spot with 15 minutes left after Jesper Karlström was adjudged to have felled Santiago Castro inside the box. It was Bernardeschi’s first goal since returning from a month out with a collarbone injury.

Bologna avoided a fifth consecutive defeat at home in Serie A for the first time since 1991. It climbed above Lazio and Sassuolo.

Udinese, meanwhile, remained 11th.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Bologna's Joao Mario, right, and Udinese's Jordan Zemura in action during the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Udinese in Bologna, Italy, Monday Feb. 23, 2026. (Gianni Santandrea/LaPresse via AP)

Udinese's Adam Buksa, left, and Bologna's Remo Freuler in action during the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Udinese in Bologna, Italy, Monday Feb. 23, 2026. (Gianni Santandrea/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Manor Solomon looks at Pisa's Felipe Loyola jumping for a header, during a Serie A soccer match, in Florence, Italy, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Moise Kean celebrates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Pisa, in Florence, Italy, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Dodo, right, and Pisa's Henrik Meister in action during the Serie A soccer match between Pisa and Fiorentina, in Florence, Italy, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Fans will be allowed to attend the remaining games of the Pakistan Super League after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved spectators for three playoff matches.

It comes two days after Sharif approved a request from franchise owners to allow fans for the PSL’s May 3 final in Lahore.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also interior minister in the government, announced the decision on social media after his meeting with Sharif in Islamabad.

He wrote on X that Sharif wanted the fans to “use public transport or minimize fuel consumption while attending the matches, in line with the ongoing national austerity efforts.”

Pakistan’s biggest sports spectacle of the year started behind closed doors late last month with fans asked to stay home because of soaring fuel prices related to the Iran war.

Pakistan’s government had urged people to restrict travel and to work from home and Naqvi had said it wouldn’t be right to have 30,000 fans attending cricket matches every day while the government is asking the public to stay home.

The PCB also reduced the number of PSL venues from six to two as part of austerity measures, but barred spectators from PSL games at Lahore and Karachi.

Peshawar Zalmi, led by Babar Azam, will take on three-time champions Islamabad United in the qualifier at Karachi on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the final.

The loser faces the winner of Wednesday's eliminator between first-timers Hyderabad Kingsmen and Multan Sultans on May 1 for the second spot in the finale, with all three of those matches in Lahore.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - A view of the Gaddafi Stadium, where opening cricket match of the Pakistan Super League between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, is taking place without spectators, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)