Monza: Dreaming Of Serie A
And Cremonese shoots to the top of Serie B on Matchday 30
Welcome to the Serie B roundup as Monza soars, Pisa stumbles and the Calabrian clubs endeavour to avoid the dreaded Malocchio.
First up, there’s nothing like a 200cm striker audaciously attempting to chip the keeper. Lanky Lorenzo Lucca was close to breaking his goal drought but Italy U21 teammate, Marco Carnesecchi, arrived in the nick of time.
There’s a bright future for Italian football.
Sette Bello
There were seven matches played on Tuesday. Before we get to Monza’s big win, let’s begin with some of the best action of the round which takes us to the San Vito and the Rigamonti.
Lurking perilously in the PlayOut Zone, the stage was set for Cosenza to pick up a precious win against Lecce. The Wolves looked as though they’d captured their first Top 8 scalp of the season, coming back conceding an early goal to lead 2–1 until the 95th minute.
Massimo Coda volleyed home deliciously within the first 120 seconds to silence the home tifosi. The League’s top scorer then denied himself of his 19th of the campaign, squandering a 16th-minute penalty as Kristjan Matosevic chose the right way.
Former Celta Vigo and Cagliari striker, Joaquin Larrivey turned back the years to level the score before the break for Cosenza. Vincenzo Millico — on loan from Torino — then bamboozled everyone to thread a brilliant solo goal and Pierpaolo Bisoli thought he was home and hosed.
Enter Alexis Blin, the ex Amien midfielder courageously headed in the Lecce equaliser deep into stoppages to maintain Top 2 status. Glorious for the Frenchman who now has his first goal in Calcio.
The Giallorossi have only lost on three occasions this term — a League record. The Lupi, with a game in hand against Benevento, are three points away from the Relegation Zone.
The Witch visits the Lioness
Filippo Inzaghi faced off against his former side as Brescia entertained Benevento at the Rigamonti.
Dimitri Bisoli, son of Cosenza coach Pierpaolo, snared his second goal in as many matches, side-footing in from an acute angle after just two minutes and La Leonessa was purring.
Andres Tello drove home a loose ball for Benevento to level it but Stefano Moreo was all alone at the back post with a finish that Super Pippo himself would have been proud of for 2–1.
In what can only be described as an effort to impress fans of the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, Tello then swept the leg of Andrea Cistana and head-butted Dimitri Bisoli to the ground within a minute. And to the rousing applause of both Mr.Miyagi and the Cobra Kai sensei, the Colombian midfielder was Gone In 60 Seconds.
Benevento was a man down but that didn’t stop Roberto Insigne curling in for Francesco Forte to equalise with a magnificent header - his fifth goal since leaving Venice.
Martial arts fans were entertained until the end as Mehdi Leris acrobatically bicycle-kicked Kamil Glik with a ruthless overhead attempt to face. The ex-Monaco defender was stretchered from the field and is in doubt for the weekend.
The Witch swindled two points from Filippo Inzaghi, the 2020/21 Benevento manager stalling in his bid to salvage his managerial reputation after sending La Strega down from the top flight ten months ago. Both sides remain in the top 6.
Hope Deferred Makes the Heart Sick
Crotone dares to defy the relegation Malocchio with a solid 2–0 win over Fabio Grosso’s Frosinone at the Scida, their first triumph for 12 games.
With time running out, Francesco Modesto’s Squali need victories. Mirko Maric was unerring from the penalty spot and Vlad Golemic got goal-side of Karlo Lulic to head home the two-goal advantage, the Serbian acquiring his first goal of the term after returning from a spell in Greece.
That’s only Crotone’s third clean sheet and third win of the season. They move to within five points of regional rival, Cosenza, who occupies a PlayOut Zone place. Following this surprise result, Frosinone slips to 8th.
The Brianzoli are the Most Lethal in the League
Monza dispatched Alessandria for three at the Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta with Patrick Ciurria leading the way for Giovanni Stroppa. The midfielder wreaked havoc in the box to manufacture the opener before curling one past Matteo Pisseri from the perimeter.
Former Lech Poznań striker, Christian Gytkjær, nailed the final goal of the game in added time. While the Dane’s strike was merely academic in terms of the result, more importantly, it affirms that the strongest attack (50 goals scored) in Serie B belongs to the Biancorossi.
Alessandria, firmly perched in the PlayOut Zone (16th with 25 points), has failed to win any of their past eleven matches and is unlikely to catch 15th-placed Spal.
Stuck In The Middle With You
Como hosted Ternana at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Both clubs came up from the third division this season, both had amassed 37 points and — with just eight rounds remaining — both clearly needed all three points to have a whiff of PlayOff football.
Click to Find out why Serie B has Top 8 Play-Offs
Antonino La Gumina thrust Como ahead with his deflected finish but Aniello Salzano equalised from the spot and the tie finished level, allowing Parma to join them on 38 points.
The Crociati, now twelfth, snared themselves a rare victory away at Christian Maggio’s Vicenza. And before you head off to Google it, NO, Maggio isn’t coaching. The former Italy star played the full 90 as the Biancorossi succumbed 0–1 at home to Gennaro Tutino’s match-winning toe-poke.
Then there’s tenth versus eleventh. Cittadella went on the offensive in this six-pointer of the round but Edoardo Gorini couldn’t break through and the tie finished goalless.
The Reggio-Calabrians held on to secure a point, unlike the previous round when Salvatore Burrai’s remarkable free-kick sunk them at the death.
Ascoli Assault Sends Pisa Stumbling
Federico Dionisi’s euphoric brace against Pisa intensified Ascoli’s advance further up the table as Andrea Sottil’s men defeated the league-leaders 2–0 in Marche.
The Bianconeri leap into 7th above Dionisi’s former side, Frosinone, who retain their Top 8 spot thanks mainly to a 95th-minute Spal equaliser away at Perugia.
Emmanuel Latte Lath canceled out Christian Kouan’s opener, denying the Grifone two valuable points that would have put them level with the Giallazzurri’s on 48 points.
Cremonese Takes Control of the Merry-Go-Round
Nicolo Cambiaghi struck to give Pordenone the lead with half an hour remaining, but Luca Zanimacchia got the first brace of his career as Cremonese won 2–1 to surge to the top of Serie B.
With just 13 points, the Ramarri are anchored to the bottom of the league while the Grigiorossi bounced into outright first position. Truly the Serie B juxtaposition of the week.
All the Matchday 30 Results
The Serie B Table: MD30
Playoffs: Much like Serie A, the “Nobody wants to win the League” tagline also applies to the second tier. The pressure is mounting as Cremonese and Monza were the only two Top 8 teams to win on MatchDay 30.
PlayOuts and Relegation: Crotone’s shock victory helps their plight in avoiding consecutive relegation but the Sharks are still five points below Cosenza — the only other team in the bottom five to get a result.
Top Scorers: After 30 Rounds
Massimo Coda extends his lead over teammate Gabriel Streffezza. Federico Dionisi steams into the top-scorers list after his brace for Ascoli, equal with Marko Maric who converted a penalty for Crotone.
Remaining Highlights from MD30
Como v Ternana, Cittadella v Reggina, Vicenza v Parma, Perugia v Spal
Next Games on Matchday 31
The Serie B Playoff dates have been announced
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.
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