Fiorentina claimed third place in Champions League Group F to earn the consolation prize of a place in next year's UEFA Cup thanks to victory over Steaua Bucharest.
With Lyon and Bayern Munich already guaranteed qualification, this was a contest to decide who would take third place and, in truth, it was never a fair one.
Alberto Gilardino's 66th-minute header decided a one-sided game in the Serie A side's favour, while Steaua's misery was compounded when Pavel Golanski was sent off in the 72nd minute.
With just one point from six matches, the Romanians could have no complaints about seeing their adventure in Europe brought to an early end.
The Viola, meanwhile, will now aim to go one step further than they did last year, when they were beaten by Rangers in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup.
The home side understandably showed the more urgency early on.
They needed to win the game to clinch third place, while Fiorentina only needed a draw.
But for all the home side's early efforts, Fiorentina never looked in any danger and the home fans soon started to vent their frustration.
The whistles they had reserved for Adrian Mutu, formerly of their city rivals Dynamo Bucharest, were soon directed at their own team who failed to break down the Viola defense.
The nearest they came to scoring in the whole match was in the 12th minute when Dayro Moreno's free-kick was only parried by Sebastian Frey.
The ball bounced dangerously in front of the French goalkeeper until Luciano Zauri cleared it behind for a corner.
Mutu nearly silenced the home fans in the 31st minute when he lifted a direct free-kick from 25 yards over the Steaua wall, but goalkeeper Robinson Zapata had anticipated the shot and punched the ball clear.
The Romanian striker had an even better chance minutes later when he was put through on goal by Mario Santana, but he sent his shot into the side-netting from an angle.
Steaua's expected resurgence in the second half failed to materialize as Fiorentina asked all the questions.
And they made the breakthrough thanks to Gilardino's header in the 66th minute.
He met Juan Vargas' corner from the left and directed the ball in to the net off the foot of the far post to give Fiorentina a bit of breathing space.
Any hope the home side had was dashed in the 72nd minute when Golanski was given his marching orders for a second yellow card after catching Vargas late.
And Fiorentina held on to their lead without breaking a sweat to book their place in the UEFA Cup.
