The Salernitana returned the 3-0 to the Monza immediately in the first leg of the 24th day of Serie A. At Arechi, the first victory at the helm of the grenade of Paulo Sousa it was spectacular with a game played at a high pace right from the start. However, the goals all came in the second half: in the 52nd minute Coulibaly he slipped into the top corner with an elusive right-footed shot for Cragno, then Kastanos at 65′ e Candreva in the 71st minute they completed the trio against a helpless Palladino team and ten in the final for theexpulsion of Donati.
THE MATCH
Salernitana is alive and has struck a blow. Of the strong ones, however, against Palladino’s Monza in the second consecutive defeat in the league without finding the goal. However, Paulo Sousa’s first success at the helm of the grenade came in a more complicated match than the score suggests, a 3-0 result of a second half dominated by the hosts but also made possible by a couple of interventions by Ochoa when the situation was still in equilibrium.
The match was completely uncorked in the second half after both Salernitana and Monza split the stages of the match before the break. The approach was more decisive for the hosts, close to the lead with Piatek and Candreva in the first part of the game. Then Monza was able to reassess itself by taking control of the dribble, but building only one great opportunity with Ciurria – served by Caldirola – who headed right into Ochoa.
To light the fuse, however, a spark was needed and that arrived at the beginning of the second half after Palladino, not satisfied with the first half, tried to change players on the pitch by inserting Donati and Mota Carvalho. Coulibaly took care of lighting the match in the 52nd minute with a right-footed shot into the top corner that ruined Cragno’s return between the posts, making his season debut in the league. Once the balance was broken, Arechi’s challenge changed completely, but first Ochoa operated the second miraculous intervention on Mota Carvalho’s touch from a few steps after the insertion of Carlos Augusto on the left.
To make up for the result, Palladino switched to a back four in the middle of the second half, but there wasn’t even time for Monza to settle down on the pitch with the new indications that Salernitana’s doubling arrived: the dribble in the middle of the pitch Candreva and Coulibaly led to Bradaric verticalizing whose deflected cross set up the ball on the edge for Kastanos’ winning shot. Five minutes later Piatek was good at recovering a ball in the middle of the field, starting the restart that led to a 3-0 win by Candreva, with scavetto after Cragno’s inaccurate clearance.
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REPORT CARDS
Coulibaly 7 – He is the cover man of the match, for the dirty work he does in the middle of the pitch and for having been the protagonist in first person in the first two goals of the match. The 1-0 is a masterpiece “alla Del Piero”, then he finds a through ball that starts the doubling.
Candreva 7.5 – The scavette for the 3-0 is the prize you get for a game played with very high intensity and quality. Assist for Coulibaly and goal in the second half after trying several times even before the interval.
Gytkjaer 5 – Palladino sets him up as a surprise starter in the center of the attack, but he is practically never seen near Ochoa. Even the work for the team is not enough in a bad day for everyone.
Circuit 5 – He has the wrong goal on his conscience in the first half with a header from a few meters that only enhances Ochoa’s instinct.
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THE TABLE
SALERNITAN-MONZA 3-0
Salerno (3-4-2-1): Ochoa 7; Gyomber 6.5 (30′ st Lovato 6), Daniliuc 6.5, Pirola 6; Sambia 6,5 (19′ st Mazzocchi 6), Coulibaly 7, Crnigoj 6 (19′ st Maggiore 6), Bradaric 6,5; Candreva 7.5 (46′ st Botheim sv), Kastanos 6.5 (30′ st Nicolussi Caviglia 6); Piatek 5.5. Unavailable: Fiorillo, Sepe, Bohinen, Vilhena, Iervolino, Bonazzoli, Valencia, Dia. All.: Sousa 7.
Monza (3-4-2-1): Cragno 5; Izzo 5, Marì 5 (40′ st Colpani sv), Caldirola 5 (19′ st Petagna 5); Ciurria 5, Sensi 5.5 (1′ st Donati 4.5), Machin 5, Carlos Augusto 5; Pessina 5.5, Caprari 5 (30′ st Ranocchia 5.5); Gytkjaer 5 (1st Mota 5.5). Available: Di Gregorio, Sorrentino, Antov, Barberis, Valoti, Carboni, Colpani, Colombo, Ferraris, D’Alessandro, Vignato. Herds: Palladino 5.
Referee: Marinelli
Markers: 7′ st Coulibaly, 20′ st Kastanos, 26′ st Candreva
Ammonite yourself: Crnigoj, Kastanos (S); Caldirola, Marì, Donati (M)
Expelled: 42′ st Donati (M) due to yellow cards
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OPTA STATISTICS
Antonio Candreva (75 goals, 77 assists) became the third player to have at least 75 goals and 75 assists in Serie A since Opta collected details of winning passes (since 2004/05), after Francesco Totti and Marek Hamsik .
Antonio Candreva both scored and provided an assist in a single Serie A match for the first time on 6 February 2022 (goal and two winning passes for Sampdoria in the blucerchiati’s 4-0 win against Sassuolo).
Salernitana have won a Serie A match with at least three goals difference for the first time since August 2022 (4-0 v Sampdoria).
Salernitana found success in a Serie A home match for the first time since October 2022 (1-0 win v Spezia).
Monza have lost a Serie A match by at least three goals for the first time since 22 October (4-1 to Milan in that case).
Salernitana kept a clean sheet in a Serie A match for the first time since October 2022 (1-0 win v Spezia at Arechi).
Salernitana won against a team from Lombardy in Serie A for the first time since 11 April 1999 (2-0 v Inter at the Arechi).
Monza suffered two consecutive defeats in Serie A for the first time since October 2022 (three in that case, against Empoli, Milan and Bologna).
Monza ended two consecutive Serie A matches without scoring any goals for the first time since early September (against Roma and Atalanta in that case).
Lassana Coulibaly’s goal ended Salernitana’s 391-minute goalless streak in Serie A (since Vilhena v Lecce).
Both of Lassana Coulibaly’s goals in this championship have come against newly promoted teams (v Cremonese and Monza).
Salernitana have scored eight goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Atalanta (13) have more in Serie A this season.
Monza field a formation with an average age of 28 years and 256 days, the oldest starting eleven for the Lombard team in this championship.
With Cragno, the number of different Italian players used by Monza in this championship rises to 22: the red and white team is the one that has fielded the most in this Serie A (21, at least six more than any other team).