In a crucial Serie A clash, bottom-placed Monza suffered a devastating 1-0 defeat against fellow relegation battlers Verona, pushing them closer to the drop. The match was decided by an unfortunate own goal from Monza’s Stefan Lekovic, who clumsily bundled the ball into his own net following a Verona attack.
Monza entered the game with a severely depleted squad due to suspensions and injuries, while Verona also missed key players. Despite these setbacks, the home side started brightly, with Amin Sarr forcing a fine save from Stefano Turati early on.
The turning point came when Suat Serdar’s cross from the right found Lekovic, resulting in the comical own goal. Verona had chances to extend their lead, with Cheikh Niasse narrowly missing the target on a counter-attack.
Monza’s troubles compounded when goalkeeper Turati was forced off due to injury. His replacement, Semuel Pizzignacco, was immediately called into action, making crucial saves from corners.
As the match progressed, both teams had opportunities to score. Verona’s Tomas Suslov sent a couple of drives off target, while Monza’s Kevin Martins caused problems with his pace. In the dying moments, Dany Mota Carvalho came close to equalizing, but his glancing header from a corner went just wide.
This defeat leaves Monza in a precarious position, desperately needing points in their fight for Serie A survival.
Goals: Lekovic og 13 (V)
MONZA (3-4-2-1): Turati ( 69′ Pizzignacco); Izzo, Lekovic, Palacios (’82’ Maric); Pereira, Urbanski, Sensi ( 58′ Castrovilli), Kyriakopoulos (58′ Martins); Ciurria, Vignato (’82’ Petagna); Mota.
VERONA (3-4-1-2): Montipò; Daniliuc, Coppola, Ghilardi; Thatchoua, Serdar (46′ Niasse), Belahyane, Bradaric (’83’ Dawidowicz); Suslov; Sarr (74′ Livramento, ’89’ Ajayi), Mosquera (’83’ Lazovic).
