Genoa-Verona 0-2
GENOA (3-5-2): Gollini 5; De Winter 5.5, Vogliacco 6, Vasquez 5.5; Sabelli 6 (16′ st Thorsby 4), Messias 5 (41′ st Accornero sv), Badelj 6 (15′ st Malinovskyi 5.5), Frendrup 5.5 (39′ st Ekhator sv), Martin 5.5; Pinamonti 5, Vitinha 6 (16′ st Ekuban 5.5). On the bench: Leali, Sommariva, Ahanor, Marcandalli, Bohinen, Kasa, Masini. Coach: Gilardino 5.5.
HELLAS VERONA (3-4-2-1): Montipo 6; Dawidowicz 5.5, Coppola 6, Frese 6; Tchatchoua 7, Duda 6 (42′ st Magnani n/a), Belahyane 6, Lazovic 6.5 (42′ st Bradaric n/a); Suslov 5.5 (16′ st Kastanos 6), Harroui 5.5 (16′ st Daniliuc 6); Tengstedt 6.5 (28′ st Mosquera 6). On the bench: Berardi, Perilli, Faraoni, Ghilardi, Okou, Silva, Cissè, Alidou, Livramento, Sarr. Coach: Zanetti 7.
REFEREE: Ayroldi of Molfetta 6.
NETWORKS: 10′ st Tchatchoua, 19′ st Tengstedt.
NOTE: clear afternoon, pitch in fair condition. Yellow cards: Suslov, Dawidowicz, Frendrup, Harroui, De Winter, Tengstedt, Belahyane, Duda. Corners: 3-1. Injury time: 3’+1, 6′.
Genoa failed in their second home game, losing 2-0 against an excellent Verona. The boys coached by Zanetti prevail thanks to Tchatchoua’s goal and Tengstedt’s penalty, both of which came in the second half. Genoa paid for their mistakes in front of goal and a generally slow second half. Eight warnings were given by referee Ayroldi, evidence of a very nervous match. The first half ended goalless, but both teams faced each other with courage and showed a fair amount of intensity. In the 15th minute Messias almost took the lead, but Duda blocked his shot from the center of the area. The best opportunity, however, for the rossoblù came in the 28th minute, when Vasquez deflected Sabelli’s cross onto the crossbar. On the other side, the guests did not sit back and watch and, in the 33rd minute, Harroui from the left of the area forced Gollini to dirty his gloves.
The competitive tone rose towards the end of the half, especially due to some rough tackles by Dawidowicz and Harroui. At the start of the second half, Genoa once again squandered a potential lead: after a great individual move, starting from midfield, Messias lacked coolness in front of Montipò, sending the ball wide with a chip. However, it was Verona who were preferred in the second half in terms of play. Genoa appeared more imprecise, unlike the orderly and cynical Scaligeri. In the 55th minute, Gollini went into crisis on a dangerous cross from Lazovic, coming out not in the best way: Tchatchoua then took advantage and, with a right-footed shot, made it 1-0 for Verona. Zanetti’s boys attacked again and, in the 63rd minute, Ayroldi punished the wide arm of the newly entered Thorsby in the area. Tengstedt stepped up to score the goal with power to double the lead. Genoa went out of balance and risked sinking further, leaving themselves open to counterattacks by their opponents.
In the final stages, Gilardino’s men did not create any danger for Verona’s solid defence. With this success, the Scaligeri redeem their previous defeat against Juventus and move up to six points in the standings: Genoa, on the other hand, remains stuck at four and takes a step back compared to the good performances against Inter and Monza.
Fiorentina-Monza 2-2
FIORENTINA (3-4-2-1): Terracciano 4.5; Comuzzo 6 (34′ st Quarta sv), Ranieri 5, Biraghi 5; Dodo 5.5, Cataldi 6 (24′ st Adli 6), Mandragora 5.5 (13′ st Bove 6), Gosens 6.5; Colpani 5 (24′ st Ikonè 6), Beltran 5 (13′ st Kouame 5.5); Kean 6.5. On the bench: De Gea, Martinelli, Pongracic, Kouadio, Kayode, Parisi, Richardson, Sottil. Coach: Palladino 5.
MONZA (3-4-2-1): Turati 7; Izzo 6.5, Pablo Mari 6.5, Carboni 6 (33′ st Caldirola n/a); Pereira 6.5 (33′ st D’Ambrosio n/a), Bondo 6, Pessina 6.5, Kyriakopoulos 6.5; Maldini 6.5 (24′ st Vignato 6), Caprari 5.5 (18′ st Gagliardini 6); Djuric 6.5 (18′ st Petagna 6). On the bench: Pizzignacco, Mazza, Valoti, Sensi, Bianco, Forson, Maric. Coach: Nesta 6.5.
REFEREE: Columbus of Como 6.
NETWORKS: 18′ pt Djuric, 32′ pt Maldini, 45′ pt Kean, 51′ st Gosens.
NOTE: humid afternoon, pitch in good condition, spectators 18,376. Gross proceeds 403,071 euros. Yellow cards: Mandragora, Dodo, Pessina, Izzo, Petagna, Gagliardini, Nesta. Corners: 7-0 for Fiorentina. Stoppage time: 4′; 9′.
Fiorentina avoided a home defeat that would have been a huge blow to morale thanks to a goal in injury time scored by Gosens with a header following a corner. For Monza, who had taken a two-goal lead and were one step away from a possible hat-trick, a missed opportunity to make a big leap in the standings. An entertaining match at the Franchi, full of twists and turns and with the score in the balance until the final whistle, but one that cannot make the coaches of the two teams happy.
The first half was one to forget for Fiorentina, with the Viola not only failing to produce a dangerous offensive move but also conceding two goals. On the first in the 18th minute, the responsibilities are divided between Biraghi who doesn’t mark Djuric, who is good at getting in on a cross from Pereira from the right, and Terracciano, who comes down badly on the Bosnian’s conclusion. On the second, in the 32nd minute, the lily goalkeeper is surprised by a right-footed shot from outside the area by Daniel Maldini served by Kyriakopoulos. A post denies Maldini the joy of a brace in the 41st minute, and four minutes later Kean reopens the match by collecting a headed assist from Ranieri after a corner kick taken by Cataldi, making his debut in the lily shirt as Gosens is preferred to the left in Parisi, while during the second half there is also room for Bove and Adli who arrived in recent days.
Seeing Monza struggling to keep possession of the ball, Nesta decides to bring on Gagliardini and Petagna shortly after the hour mark for Caprari and Djuric, switching to a more cautious 3-5-2. Fiorentina are expected to push forward in the second half of the match, but the Viola are in physical difficulty and are the authors of a very high number of errors in the final twenty meters. The Lilies in the final stages are first close to equalizing in the 90th minute when a header from Kean is saved by a prodigious double save from Turati, then again with a header in the 96th minute the final 2-2 signed by Gosens.