Easter on the field: the clash between Genoa and Monza ends in a draw, a match valid for the 32nd round of the championship, played at the Sciorba Stadium.
The biancorossi start well and, from the first minutes, show the signs of a proactive team eager to build on their excellent performance against Roma.
The starting debut of Martone and the second appearance of Abou Elezz stand out, both talented youngsters born in 2009 and raised in the Monza Youth Academy.
At 8', Monza wins a corner and Attinasi, with a pinpoint cross, delivers a perfect trajectory for his teammates in the box. Diene reaches the ball first, beats the defender in the air and narrowly misses the goal with a header.
The match is lively and fast-paced: at 9', Genoa counterattacks and, at the first opportunity, Spicuglia opens the scoring, taking advantage of a deflection on Lafont’s shot and finishing past Vailati.
The Brianzoli push forward, but the Genoa defense is alert, gives no space and tries to relaunch attacks by feeding the forwards.
The home team comes close to doubling the lead twice: first, at 24', Carbone finds the target, but the referee cancels the goal for offside; then, a minute later, Lauricella hits the post.
At 34', Vailati hypnotizes Romano, who takes a free kick from the edge of the area, aims for the corner, but the goalkeeper makes a superb save.
The biancorossi get back into the attacking zone and at 37' Martone attempts a long-range shot, but the home defense deflects it for a corner. The pressure from Diene and his teammates grows as the minutes pass and the first half ends with Monza in an advanced position.
In the second half, Genoa has the first chance, but the shot is blocked and the score remains unchanged.
At 10', Mout showcases all his personality and quality: the midfielder cuts inside from outside the box and shoots with his left foot. The strong, curling shot hits the crossbar and is saved by the Brianzoli.
From the Monza bench, Reita and Gaye come on, fresh legs ready to bring new energy and restore balance to the score.
At 23', Attinasi, from a free kick, rewards Villa’s movement in the box, who reaches the ball first and nearly finds the corner with a header.
Zulevic at 33' shoots towards the goal and leads the charge for his teammates, who have dropped back compared to the first half due to Monza’s growth.
At 36', Buonaiuto and Reita take the spotlight: the midfielder dribbles past two opponents and serves the biancorossi playmaker, who scores his ninth goal of the season and reopens the match.
In the final moments, at 47', Reita goes on a counterattack and shoots with his right foot, but Bacelli is well-positioned in goal and blocks the ball. The match ends 1-1 at the final whistle.
In the next round, scheduled for Saturday, 11th April at 3:00 PM, AC Monza will host Bologna FC 1909.
GENOA CFC-AC MONZA 1-1
SCORERS: 9’ ft Spicuglia (GEN), 36’ st Reita (MON)
GENOA CFC: Bacelli, Odero, Doucoure, Romano (Giangreco 1’ st), Spicuglia (Meola 37’ st), Lauricella (Gecaj 24’ st), Kumer, Carbone, Arata, Lafont, Gibertini (Zulevic 24’ st). Substitutes: Lysionok, Calabrese, Nsingi, Albè, Fazio, Ndulue, Bellone. Coach: Jacopo Sbravati
AC MONZA: Vailati, Bagnaschi, Villa, Attinasi (Castelli 41’ st), Martone (Buonaiuto 30’ st), Diene, Abou Elezz (Gaye 19’ st), Mout (Reita 19’ st), Albè (Fardin 30’ st), De Bonis, Fogliaro. Substitutes: Montagna, Romanini, Drobnic, Longhi, Ballabio, Porta. Coach: Oscar Brevi
Yellow cards: Mout (MON), Diene (MON)
Referee: Mr. Gioele Iacobellis (Mr. Kevin Turra - Mr. Simone Giuseppe Chimento)
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