Palermo kept up their pursuit of promotion with a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brescia. A blistering start saw the Rosanero deservedly take the lead through Franco Vasquez with 18 minutes on the clock, with Paulo Dybala steering home the second shortly after the restart.
Brescia rarely threatened in the absence of top-scorer Andrea Caracciolo, and only an impressive performance from goalkeeper Alessio Cragno spared the visitors from the indignity of a heavy defeat.
Empoli’s grip on second spot meanwhile continues to look tenuous, with a goalless draw at Modena meaning it is now just one win eight outings for the Tuscan side. Simone Verdi registered the goal-shy visitor’s solitary shot on target, while a man of the match performance from goalkeeper Davide Bassi meant that a point was arguably a positive outcome.
A later winner from Manuel Turchi saw Virtus Lanciano move back up to third thanks to a 2-1 victory over Novara, while fifth place Trapani moved level on points with opponents Latina following a 93rd minute winner from Giuseppe Pirrone. Crotone meanwhile are up to sixth thanks to a 4-1 win at Reggina in a game that had remained goalless until the 65th minute.
Avellino and Cesena remain in the play-off places but both endured setbacks this weekend with respective 1-0 defeats to Bari and Siena. Meanwhile Pescara’s revival under new coach Serse Cosmi continued with a 1-0 win away at Spezia that leaves the Delfini just two points adrift of the top eight.
Towards the bottom of the table, Juve Stabia edged ever closer to relegation with a 3-2 home defeat to Ternana. It was the Vespe’s 18th defeat of a miserable season and left Piero Braglia’s side 16 points from safety.
Third bottom Padova meanwhile recorded their biggest win of the season with a 3-0 triumph over Varese, while relegation rivals Cittadella boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win at home to Carpi. Both sides are now five points adrift of fifth bottom Novara, keeping alive the prospect of a relegation play-off come the end of the season.
