Ascoli and Südtirol struggled but came away with wins: they’re at the top of Serie B
Ascoli and Südtirol have taken the top spot in the Serie B standings on a Saturday in which, however, the former leaders all sat on the sidelines and could reclaim the lead in Sunday’s scheduled matches (when Modena hosts Avellino, Mantova will travel to face Cesena, and Sampdoria will visit Palermo). The teams from the Marche and South Tyrol, however, did what was expected of them by defeating Benevento and Catanzaro, respectively—both of which are grappling with increasingly evident struggles in the standings despite performances on the field that were far from disappointing. Empoli, on the other hand, bounced back with an away win over Carrarese, putting themselves back in playoff contention.
Ascoli secured a 1-0 victory over Benevento at the end of a match that was, in reality, anything but easy: the Giallorossi were reduced to ten men as early as the 42nd minute due to a second yellow card for Prisco, but the Marche side struggled to break through against the home crowd. In the end, a penalty kick converted by Brunori in the 84th minute proved decisive. Südtirol’s task was no easier; in Bolzano, they managed to get the better of Catanzaro only in the closing minutes of the match: Burnete and Mixtur sealed the 2-0 victory in the 86th and 89th minutes, respectively. The goal that sealed Empoli’s 1-0 away win over Carrarese came in the 74th minute, scored by Popov.
Südtirol, one of the teams sitting out Sunday’s action, also faces a major challenge in the Coppa Italia: on September 15, the South Tyrolean red-and-whites will take on Genoa in the round of 16, with a spot against Inter on the line. This dual front—the league and the cup—could test the team’s resources in the coming weeks.
Among the teams taking the field on Sunday to try to climb the standings, Filippo Inzaghi’s Palermo heads into its match against Sampdoria on the back of an extraordinary start to the season. The Rosanero, who have already earned six points in the first two league matches—with wins over Juve Stabia and Arezzo — have also made a name for themselves in the Coppa Italia, first with a 2-0 win over Serie A’s Lecce in the round of 32 and then with a decisive 5-2 victory over Mantova in the round of 16, with Joel Pohjanpalo shining as the star of the show with a brace. The Finnish striker continues to be the offensive linchpin around whom Inzaghi builds his team’s play.
Mantova, which will visit Cesena on Sunday, also boasts an unblemished record so far: six points in the league and the sensational feat of eliminating Gattuso’s Lazio from the Olimpico in the Coppa Italia with a 2-0 win, thanks to goals by Ruocco and Cajazzo. The Virgiliani, however, suffered a 5-2 defeat against Palermo in the round of 32 of the cup, despite showing grit by temporarily tying the score at 2-2 thanks to goals by Ruocco and Kouda before the Rosanero ran riot in the closing minutes.
In the background, the situation at Cremonese is also making headlines, as it represents one of the most talked-about stories of the early season. The Grigiorossi sacked Marco Giampaolo after just two league matches—a 1-0 loss at Empoli and a crushing 3-0 home defeat to Modena — and handed the reins to Fabio Pecchia, who had previously led the Lombardy-based club to promotion to Serie A in the 2021-22 season. This drastic change underscores just how intense the pressure already is in a Serie B that promises to be tightly contested and ruthless right from the start.
