On 7 May, one of the matches of the 34th round of the Italian football championship took place. Lecce (Italy) and Verona (Italy) met.
Italian Championship, round 34
Lecce (Italy) - Verona (Italy) - 0:1 (0:0)
Goal: K. Ngonge (71)
Warnings: Davide Faraoni (19), Morten Hjulmand (23), O. Abildgaard (35), Gianiacomo Magnani (52), Remi Uden (79), L. Montipo (82), K. Ngonge (86)
In a tense football match in the Serie A league, Lecce hosted Verona at the Comunale Via del Mare. Despite a great effort from both sides, the first half ended 0-0. Both teams started the game at a high tempo, with Verona receiving a yellow card in the 19th minute when the referee issued a warning to D. Faraoni. Lecce responded with a yellow card of their own as M. Hjulmand received a suspension in the 23rd minute. As the half went on, both teams continued to aim for a goal but it was Verona who looked the more threatening with O. Abildgaard earning a yellow card in the 35th minute. The second half began with Verona player G. Magnani receiving a yellow card in the 52nd minute. 65 minutes into the match, Verona made their first substitution: S Verdi was replaced by K. Ngonge. This decision proved to be decisive as Ngonge scored the winning goal on 71 minutes.
Verona made two quick substitutions to strengthen their midfield: D. Faraoni was replaced by F. Depaoli and O. Duda came on in place of I. Suleman. However, Lecce did not give up, making two substitutions of their own: in the 72nd minute, F Di Francesco and A Blin came on in place of L Banda and J Gonzalez. But R. Udin earned a yellow card in the 79th minute and Lecce's chances of equalising began to diminish as the game progressed. Verona's L Montipo was also sent off in the 82nd minute as the game became increasingly tense. Lecce tried to bounce back by making another substitution when R. Udin came on in place of L. Colombo in the 83rd minute. However, it was too little, too late - Verona kept their lead. Ngongue earned a yellow card in the 86th minute, but Verona managed to pull one back after making one last substitution in the 89th minute: D. Lazovic replaced F. Terracciano. The game ended 0-1, with Verona taking all three points. Overall, it was an intense and tense match in which substitutions in the Verona squad played a decisive role. Both teams will be looking to build on this game as the Serie A championship continues.
In the next round, the opponents will face Lazio versus Lecce and Verona versus Torino.
| Lecce | Verona | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Goals on goal | 3 |
| 15 | Shots | 9 |
| 4 | Blocked shots | 1 |
| 8 | Kicks from the penalty area | 5 |
| 7 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 4 |
| 11 | Offences | 13 |
| 4 | Corner | 4 |
| 2 | Offsides | 2 |
| 52% | Possession of the ball | 48% |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 5 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 2 | Safeties by goalkeeper | 2 |
| 389 | Total assists | 366 |
| 275 | Accurate passes | 245 |
| 71% | Accuracy of transmissions | 67% |