Andrija Novakovich continued his fine form to set up a big Frosinone win, while Gianluca Busio and Venezia suffered yet another loss as their relegation to Serie B nears inevitability.
Venezia FC 1 – 3 Atalanta
Gianluca Busio earned the start in Venezia’s midfield as they were crushed by Atalanta on Saturday to continue their downward spiral.
The former Sporting KC player went just over an hour on the left side of the team’s midfield, completing 26 of his 28 passes including both of his long-ball attempts, however was stifled near Atalanta’s goal along with the rest of his team.
Tanner Tessmann was in uniform for the hosts, but didn’t make it off of the bench.
Venezia looked to have taken a lightening-fast lead after five minutes when Thomas Henry stooped down to head in long ball forward from Mattia Aramu, however it was called back after a VAR review for offside.
Atalanta welcomed the reversal and kept the game scoreless until unloading over a 15-minute span of time beginning shortly before the half.
Mario Pasalic put them ahead one minute before the break when he redirected a shot from Luis Muriel that bounced off the crossbar over the line, then Duvan Zapata tapped in a low cross from his Colombian teammate moments after the restart for 2-0.
Busio was pulled after 61 minutes for Domen Crnigoj, and had to watch from the sidelines when Muriel headed in a pinpoint cross from Davide Zappacosta two minutes later for the unassailable 3-0 lead.
Crnigoj did pull back a consolation goal for the hosts with ten minutes left, breaking free on the right side of the area and targeting the near post, however it did little more than to make the scoreline respectable, with Atalanta cruising to the win.
The loss leaves Venezia in a tough spot with dwindling opportunities to improve their position. They now occupy last place in Serie A, are six points below the surface, and only have five games left to play. They will be hard pressed to start any miraculous comeback in their next outing, as they will visit Juventus on Sunday.
Frosinone 4 – 1 Monza
Andrija Novakovich continued his good form for Frosinone, setting up the goal to begin their comeback as they thrashed Monza on Monday evening.
From his positioning at the center of Frosinone’s front-three, the American had three shots, two of which were on-target, completed 11 of 14 passes, set up another three attempts for his teammates and most importantly helped their return from an early deficit.
Monza were ahead after 13 minutes when Dany Mota broke free into Frosinone territory, and hit his low shot from just inside the area to the lower left corner for the shocking 1-0 lead to the visitors.
Novakovich did his part to keep Frosinone in the game, redirecting the ball into Camillo Ciano path in the 37th minute for a powerful 25-yard blast that beat the Monza keeper at the upper right corner.
Frosinone then piled on the pain, pulling ahead in the 40th minute with a fine solo effort from Alessio Zerbin, then doing no work to make it 3-1 four minutes past the half when Monza keeper Michele di Gregorio fumbled a back pass into his own net.
Novakovich left the field afer a solid performance in the 83rd minute in place of Emanuele Cicerelli, but Frosinone had one more trick up their sleeve, netting a fourth into injury time when Luigi Canotto struck from distance for the final 4-1 score.
The victory leaves Frosinone in eighth place, still with a three-point gap on the final playoff spot over Perugia, and with a trip to SPAL Ferrara on Saturday.
Notes
Weston McKennie is still recovering from a broken foot and was not in the squad for Juventus’s 2-1 win at Sassuolo on Monday night.
Anthony Fontana is still awaiting his European debut, which did not come in Ascoli’s scoreless home draw against Cittadella on Monday afternoon.
