Blow For Blow in Serie B
MD35: three rounds to go, four points separate first and sixth
Perugia and Frosinone fight for survival, Pordenone is officially relegated while Cremonese, Benevento and Pisa are the big winners on Matchday 35.
Tanta Roba! Is Napoli-owned Gianluca Gaetano ready to fill the void left by Lorenzo Insigne for Luciano Spalletti?
Judge for yourself.
The Race for Eighth
Eight goals were scored at the Libero Liberati between Cristiano Lucarelli’s Ternana and Fabio Grosso’s Frosinone as Andrija Novakovich leveled it from the penalty spot in added time for the Canarini.
And there were eight different names on the scoresheet — that’s if you include the two own-goals by Stefano Minelli and Luka Bogdan —as Ternana led 4–3 until the 96th-minute.
Ternana-Frosinone 4–4: Rohden 10th (F), Proietti (T), Minelli OG (T), Bogdan OG (F), Palumbo (T), Gatti (F), Pettinari (T), Novakovich (F).
The draw gives 8th-placed Frosinone a three-point buffer over Perugia, who came from behind to overcome Vicenza at the Stadio Romeo Menti.
hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper
Nicola Dalmonte caused all kinds of problems for the Grifone’s defence throughout the match and nabbed the opening goal for the home-side two minutes after kick-off.
However, two headers from Marcos Curado and Jacopo Segre earned Massimiliano Alvini a second victory in the last ten matches. The win hauls Perugia to within three points of Frosinone.
H2H: If Perugia and Frosinone conclude the home and away season on equal points then the Umbrians boast the head-to-head advantage courtesy of the 3–0 win at the Renato Curi in February.
Perugia has Parma, Ternana and Monza coming up in the final three rounds while Frosinone faces a tougher run home against Monza, Spal and Pisa. Vicenza, on the other hand, hopes to mow down - and ankle tap - Cosenza.
the Bianconeri will play in mid-May
Soufiane Bidaoui’s first-time volley was enough for Ascoli to claim three more points, defeating Parma — who had a Goran Pandev goal ruled out for handball — at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
The 1–0 away win means that Andrea Sottil sails into the PlayOffs while Beppe Iachini has only three more chances to prove he’s worthy of staying on the Ducali bench.
Puscas and Torregrossa get it done
Pisa picked up three perfect points at the Arena Garibaldi with a 3–1 victory over Como. Ernesto Torregrossa and George Puscas both staked their claims to win the club’s capocannoniere title with three rounds remaining. The Romanian international, on loan from Reading, started and finished the scoring in the 7th and 78th minutes respectively.
Como’s Ettore Gliozzi tapped in Antonino La Gumina’s glancing header to level it in the 63rd minute. Two minutes later, Samuele Birindelli got in behind Nicholas Ioannou to win the Nerazzurri a penalty in which Torregrossa — the big tower — held his nerve to fire in from twelve yards for the city with…the big tower.
Luca D’Angelo’s side never looked back after that. Puscas rammed home to beat ex-Pisa goalkeeper, Stefano Gori, from close range to seal the deal. Diego Simeone’s former club now remains in the hunt for automatic promotion while Jack Gattuso should remain in charge of Como after guiding the Lariani to Serie B survival.
Moncini and Farias send the Neroverdi down
Benevento returned to winning ways at the Stadio Guido Teghil, officially ending Pordenone’s three-year stint in the second division with a 4–1 away win which keeps the Witches within flying distance of Lecce.
Gabriele Moncini pumped in his second brace of the campaign while Diego Farias beat Giovanni Bindi twice in five minutes midway through the second half. Former Sampdoria striker Davide Gavazzi drove in a consolation goal for the Ramarri, his first in over two years.
Lest we forget that Pordenone won promotion into Serie B for the first time in history in 2019 under Attilio Tesser and finished, quite amazingly, in fourth place in their first season.
Pepito procures number three
Crotone’s slim chance of avoiding consecutive relegations took an even bigger hit when Giuseppe Rossi delicately toe-poked Spal’s equaliser into the corner with four minutes remaining.
David Schnegg, on loan from Venezia to Crotone, rammed in his debut Italian goal with a 7th-minute belter at Stadio Paolo Mazza as the Squali strived to capture three priceless league points to stay within reach of Cosenza.
Rossi’s third goal for Spal helps the Biancazzurri sustain a three-point gap above the PlayOut Zone. Crotone could be relegated next weekend with a loss to Cremonese if Cosenza — hot favourites — defeat Pordenone, as the Lupi own the head-to-head over the Squali (1–0 win for Cosenza last August).
Cremonese so close to Serie A
Cosenza, who won midweek against Benevento, went down to Cremonese 3–1 at the Stadio Giovanni Zini on Saturday afternoon.
Joaquin Larrivey continued his recent run of good form to get his third goal in the space of a month. The Argentine delivered his fourth of the term in the opening 120 seconds as the Wolves strived to conquer another Top 8 side.
However, Gianluca Gaetano unleashed two moments of brilliance. Firstly, driving low under Kristjian Matošević, and then cutting in from the left, fooling two defenders and finishing into the far corner for 2–1.
Notching up a career-best seventh goal for the season, the Napoli-owned midfielder could cover the loss of Lorenzo Insigne in Serie A, while Nicolo Fagioli staked his claim for a return to Juventus after creating Cremonese’s third.
Calabrian spanner in the works
Lecce relinquished top spot of Serie B, losing 1–0 to Reggina in a tense affair at the Oreste Granillo. The match was won in first-half stoppages when Michael Folorunsho tapped in Tomasz Kupisz’s hit.
While Reggina had nothing to gain nor lose, coach Roberto Stellone is looking to extend his contract, while the Giallorossi must now avoid defeat to Pisa this weekend to fend off the Tuscan’s challenge for direct promotion.
Brescia ruins the Brianteo party
José Machin came off the bench and hit the top of the net, but Monza was denied its fourth consecutive home win as Brescia captain, Dimitri Bisoli, equalised late in the second half.
Although Brescia is undefeated in seven, Eugenio Corini’s side has only won twice during that period. Just two points separate these clubs and both have the chance of automatic promotion. Giovanni Stroppa’s Bagai face three Serie A hopefuls to finish off the term — Frosinone, Benevento and Perugia.
the Bear rips the heart out of Citta
Alessandria took the lead and then held on for 55 minutes with ten men against Cittadella. Simone Corazza’s first-half diving header and dink over the ‘keeper earned L’Orso a two-goal lead, stunning the home fans at the Tombolato after just 32 minutes.
It was a big day for Italian U19 forward, Edoardo Pierozzi, who supplied both assists for Corazza, but Atalanta-loanee Federico Mattiello received a second caution in the 34th-minute to give Citta hope of a comeback.
Despite Davide Mazzocco nodding in ten minutes from time, Alessandria bravely held on for the points, quelling direct relegation fears and intensifying their pursuit of Spal — the Ferraresi remain three points above them.
All the Matchday 35 Results
The big shock of the round was most definitely Lecce’s loss to Reggina. Cittadella waved goodbye to the PlayOffs with their loss at home to Alessandria, a surprise considering that they were denied Serie A football in 2021/22 by Venezia’s last ditch-goal in last season’s knockouts.
Leading Scorers MD35
Simone Corazza is challenging Strefezza and Donnarumma for second place, the 31-year-old Alessandria striker smashing his way to 12 goals.
The Serie B Table on MD35
Playoffs: There is literally no way to predict who will win automatic promotion. Ascoli will contest the PlayOffs as Frosinone and Perugia strive to claim 8th position.
PlayOuts and Relegation: Alessandria looks safe from direct relegation with a seven-point lead over Vicenza. Crotone will be relegated on MD36 if they lose to Cremonese and Cosenza defeats Pordenone.
Remaining Highlights from MD35
Spal Crotone, Vicenza Perugia, Reggina Lecce, Cittadella Alessandria, Parma Ascoli, Pordenone Benevento
Next Games on Matchday 36
Top 8 sides: Watch out for Perugia vs Parma, Frosinone vs Monza and the big six-pointer between Lecce and Pisa.
PlayOut: Keep your eye on Crotone vs Cremonese, Cosenza vs Pordenone and Brescia vs Spal.
The Serie B Playoff dates (below)
Play Off First Round
Friday, 13th May 6 v 7 (X), Saturday 14th May, 5 v 8 (Y).
PlayOut Dates
16th vs 17th of Serie B will be contested on Thursday, 12th of May and Friday, 20th of May (Home and Away).
Play Off Semifinal
Tuesday, 17th May. (X v 3) Wednesday, 18th May. (Y v 4) Saturday, 21st May. (3 v X) Sunday, 22nd May. (4 v Y)
Play Off Final
Thursday, May 26th and Sunday, May 29th.
Serie B Season 2022–2023 Calendar
Next season’s calendar is confirmed. The championship starts on Saturday 13 August and ends on Friday 19 May 2023. There will be a break for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the 15th round taking place on November 12th and the resumption on boxing day, Monday December 26th.
