Chievo defeated Genoa 1-0 at the Stadio Bentegodi on Sunday afternoon and kept their opponents close to the relegation zone.
It was a rather uninspiring match in which the defences dominated but Lucas Castro scored early in the second half for the Flying Donkeys to earn the home side all three points.
Both teams tried to create chances in the first half but the midfielders usually struggled to link up well with the forwards. Defences were on top and the best chances came from long-range efforts.
After an exchange of passes, Valter Birsa’s angled drive had just flashed across the Genoa goal. Alessio Cerci had the two best chances for Genoa; the first attempt was from at least 30 metres but Albano Bizzarri caught the ball with confidence and the second one was a curling shot that went wide at the far post.
Luca Rigoni had a chance to put Genoa ahead early in the second half but shot straight at Bizzarri. Castro gave Chievo the lead after 51 minutes when a bending cross came from the right-wing and the Argentine dived at the far post to head the ball into the net.
Gian Piero Gasperini brought Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Darko Lazovic into the game but Genoa were still lacking in ideas in attack. Luca Rigoni had another chance to score but Bizzarri saved his effort. As the second half went on, it looked more likely that Chievo would make the score 2-0.
The Grifone pressed harder for equaliser at the end but to no avail. Paul-Jose Mpoku put the ball into the net in the last minute but he was clearly offside.
Now Genoa are deep in trouble, just five points away from the relegation zone while Chievo are comfortably in mid table and looked destined for another season in the top flight.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com