Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann couldn’t prevent Venezia from being on the losing side once again to Hellas, while Andrija Novakovich and Frosinone were also dealt a heavy defeat.
Hellas Verona 3 – 1 Venezia FC
Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann once again tag-teamed for Venezia on Sunday afternoon on their visit to Hellas Verona, however it was an afternoon to forget as they fell by a 3-1 margin.
Busio started in the central midfield alongside Michaël Cuisance, completing 76% of his 25 attempted passes over the course of 79 minutes, winning eight of his 12 duels against opposing players, while being limited on his direct influence on the team’s mostly flaccid attack.
Tessmann was on the field for only a short time, however made the most of it, notching a “hockey assist” on Venezia’s lone score.
The the hosts were already dealt a blow shortly after the opening whistle, when Hellas defender Panagiotis Restos had to be pulled after six minutes due to injury, with Federico Ceccherini taking his place in the back-three.
The game was fairly tight in the first 45 minutes, however Hellas ran away with the game starting shortly into the second half, with Giovanni Simeone netting a hat trick for the killer blow.
The son of legendary coach Diego Simeone scored his first of the afternoon in the 54th minute, beating a challenge by Mattia Caldara on the left to maintain possession, rounding into the penalty area and striking a low shot past Sergio Romero for the 1-0 led.
His second came just past the hour mark, with Davide Faraoni fighting forward then feeding Simeone with a short pass into the area for a one-touch finish from 12 yards out.
Venezia head coach Paolo Zanetti made a triple-switch four minutes later, most notably bringing Portuguese wizard Nani onto the field in an attempt to jump-start the attack.
Tessmann eventually entered the fold, subbing in for Busio in the 79th minute, which shortly preceded a brief, few moments of hope for the visitors that they could fight back for a result.
In the 81st minute, with Venezia pushing forward en masse, Tessmann fed a short pass to Dennis Johnsen on the right, who then chipped a cross towards goal. David Okereke was waiting on the edge of the six-yard box, and snapped his header past the helpless keeper to cut the deficit to a single goal.
However, Hellas prevented any further damage, and sealed the victory with two minutes left in regulation.
Italy’s tastiest named footballer, Kevin Lasagna, stormed forward up the middle before hitting the streaking Simeone on his own run into the box. He completed his hat-trick by placing his shot just inside the right upright, remarkably his fifth goal this season against Venezia.
Venezia return to the relegation zone with the loss, where they are currently three point below the surface. The Winged Lions will try to lift themselves on Sunday when they host tenth-place Sassuolo.
Cittadella 3 – 0 Frosinone
Andrija Novakovich played most of the second half for Frosinone as they tried to turn around a heavy halftime deficit, however the team still fell to Cittadella on Sunday afternoon.
Giacomo Beretta fired Cittadella into the lead after 20 minute when he was in position to clean up from short range following a spectacular attempt from Mamadou Tounkara. Then Tounkara netted one of his own five minutes later when he did fine work to beat the Frosinone keeper and several defenders in front of goal to create space for a tidy finish.
Beretta then made it 3-0 just before the halftime break, leaping high to head in from the edge of the six-yard box.
Novakovich was brought on in the 56th minute as a part of a triple-switch by head coach Fabio Grosso. While Frosinone did have the better of chances in the second half, with Novakovich coming close with an attempt that flew wide right, Cittadella easily held on for the win.
The result leaves Frosinone in eighth place, at the bottom of the group of teams that would qualify for the promotion playoff. They are back in action quickly, with a Tuesday home game against Cosenza Calcio.
Notes
Weston McKennie is injured and did not line up for Juventus on Saturday in their 3-2 road win over Empoli. The team is back in action quickly, with a Coppa Italia semifinal against Fiorentina on Wednesday.
Anthony Fontana is still injured and did not suit up for Ascoli in their 2-1 home win against Crotone in Serie B action.
