Lecce-Monza 2-1, salvation shot for mister Giampaolo

Lecce, 15 December 2024 – At Via del Mare the Lecce wins three points in the direct clash for salvation against the MonzaThe Sunday lunch match of this sixteenth day of Serie A ends 2-1: the match is decided by the goals of Dying e Kristovic, with the latter redeeming the previous error from the penalty spot. The temporary draw due to the own goal of Dorgu. With this statement the team trained by Giampaolo rises to 16 points, while that of In this remains stuck at 10 and at the bottom of the ranking together with Venice. 

The choices of the two coaches

Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Jean, Dorgu; Coulibaly, Berisha, Rafia; Pierotti, Krstovic, Morente. Coach Giampaolo. 

Monza (3-4-2-1): Turati; Izzo, Mari, Caldirola; Birindelli, Bianco, Bondo, Kyriakopoulos; Maldini, Caprari; Mota. Coach Nesta. 

First half

It took just under three minutes for Lecce to unlock the result: a splendid throw from Berisha for Dying, who surprises the Lombard defense and pierces Turati with his right foot. The red and whites try to react with a Maldini run, blocked in the corner by Coulibaly. Two minutes later a nice move by the home team leads to a cross by Dorgu, cleared by Mari. Dorgu who in the 12th minute was the protagonist of a run in the opponent's area which was stopped by a foul by Bianco: for the referee Mariani It's a penalty kick. The ball steps up to the spot Kristovic, who is hypnotized by a super TuratiFor the Giallorossi striker, it was the third error in four attempts from 11 meters in Serie A. Having escaped the danger, Nesta's men returned to attack and Dany Mota had a good chance, but he didn't hit the target.

Same thing a few seconds later for Krstovic. In the 22nd minute there was a big chance for Maldini, who was the first to get to Birindelli's cross, but his aim was not precise and the ball ended up out. Then it was the Monza full-back who tried it himself in the 30th minute with a header deflected into a corner by Falcone. Among the most active on the pitch was certainly Krstovic, who once again however did not hit the target. In the 37th minute there was a sensational error by Dorgu: on a long throw from the Brianza players, the 2004 class player tries to pass back to Falcone who in the meantime had come out of the goalposts, the two do not understand each other and so it results in an own goal. Before the break, however, the Apulians get back in front: in the 44th minute Pierotti anticipates the defender on the wing, the ball then arrives to Kristovic, who this time inflates the net with a precise and powerful turn. Lecce knocks again on Falcone's side with a free kick from Berisha, rejected by the Monza goalkeeper right in the last second of the two minutes of added time granted by Mariani. 

Second half

At the start of the second half, the red and whites were in control of the pitch: Falcone was alert on crosses from Kyriakopoulos and Birindelli. Bianco scored the equaliser in the 57th minute, but the goal was disallowed for an obvious offside by the Lombardy midfielder. Kyriakopoulos was once again the protagonist with an Olympic goal attempt, prevented by Falcone's save. And the cross, touched by Guilbert with one hand, also came from the Greek's feet, initially inducing Mariani to call a penalty in favour of Nesta's team. However, the referee later corrected himself and decided on a simple free kick from the edge of the area. In the 70th minute, Monza restarted on the Bondo-Dany Mota axis, with the latter finishing high. The Brianza team breathed a sigh of relief five minutes later when Forson brought down Rebic in his area: Mariani awarded the penalty to the Apulians, but the decision was cancelled for a previous offside. The guests want to try until the end: Maldini and Fonson are not precise with their shots. The Giallorossi wall does not fall despite the assault of Monza and after six minutes of recovery can celebrate a very precious victory.