Carpi increased their lead at the top of the table to nine points after their 4-0 demolition of Perugia on Saturday in Serie B.
The Biancorossi went into the match at the Stadio Cabassi knowing they could go nine points clear after Frosinone lost 2-0 away at struggling Crotone in the early match.
The Gialloblu were favourites going into the match but goals in either half from the home side was enough to claim the three points.
The hosts took the lead in the 19th minute through Raffaele Maiello. The midfielder was set free on goal and he coolly slotted the ball past the onrushing Mirko Pigliacelli into the bottom corner.
The game was over in the 89th minute when Federico Ricci scored for the Rossoblu. A quick free-kick meant that Ricci was one-one with a defender when he knocked the ball to the slide and struck the ball into the bottom corner.
So, Carpi only needed a win to stretch their lead to nine points and they did convincingly, disposing of Perugia with a 4-0 win thanks to goals from Lorenzo Pasciuti, Jerry Mbakogu, Aljaz Struna and Roberto Inglese.
It took the leaders almost half an hour to break the deadlock when Pasciuti scored. A long ball over the top was latched on to by the midfielder and he slammed the ball in the bottom corner.
It was two at the start of the second half when a through ball was fed to Mbakogu who nutmegged Ivan Prodevel in the Perugia goal.
A third was added minutes later when Mbakogu squared for Struna to knock the ball into the empty net. Roberto Inglese made it four in injury time as he latched onto a square ball and finished from close range.
Bologna went level with Frosinone in third place after they dispatched Pro Vercelli 3-0 at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
It took the Rossoblu only two minutes to take the lead as Riccardo Improta struck in the bottom corner from just outside the box.
In the 25th minute it was 2-0 thanks to a comical own goal. A low ball across the box was palmed by goalkeeper Danilo Russo onto the unfortunate Andrea Marconi.
It was game over minutes into the second half. A long range shot wasn’t dealt with by Russo and Karim Laribi latched onto the rebound and fired into the bottom corner.
There was a thrilling game in Liguria as Spezia and Virtus Lanciano played out a 3-3 draw.
The Aquilotti went two goals ahead early on thanks to goals from Nicolo Giannetti and Andrea Catellani. The lead did not last long though with Lanciano getting back on level terms seven minutes later through Paolo Grossi and Antonio Piccolo.
Catellani got his second of the match just before half-time to put Spezia 3-2 in front.
The scoring wasn’t done though as Gaetano Monachello put Lanciano on level terms for the second time in the match and it ended that way with both teams still lurking in the play-off positions.
Alessandro Sgrigna hit a hat-trick as Cittadella won their first match since the 20th September as they beat eight man Catania 3-2.
The forward grabbed his first in the fourth minute as Citta went into half-time with a 1-0 lead. Fabian Rinaudo received his second yellow card in the 51st minute and minutes later Sgrigna got his second goal to make it 2-0 to the hosts.
Just before the hour-mark Sgrigna got his third to surely put the game out of doubt, but ten man Catania pulled two goals back in the space of five minutes in the 79th and 84th minute through Emanuele Calaio.
Just as the Elefanti were threatening to equalise, Michal Chrapek was shown a straight red card in the 88th minute. Then Sebastian Leto, who weren’t even on the pitch was also dismissed.
To add insult to injury, Nicolas Spolli was also sent down the tunnel before full-time which meant that all in all Catania received four red cards and deservedly lost 3-2.
Elsewhere, Trapani leap-frogged their opposition Avellino today following a 4-1 thrashing.
Avellino took the lead in the opening minutes thanks to a goal from their talisman, Luigi Castaldo.
The home side equalised just before the break through Giovanni Abate. Enis Nadarevic turned the game on it’s head halfway through the second half when he made it 2-1.
Abate got two more goals in the last quarter of an hour to wrap the game up for the Granata.
Latina moved off the bottom of the table as they drew 1-1 with Virtus Entella as Varese took their place following a 2-0 defeat to Pescara.
The two goals were a minute apart astonishingly as Andrea Mazzarani put Entella in front in the 36th minute but Latina equalised in the 37th minute through Marco Crimi.
At the Stadio Adriatico, Pescara defeated Varese 2-0 as the latter now sit at the bottom of the table for Christmas.
A brace from Ferdinando Melchiorri was enough for the Delfini who now move up to 13th with a bit of breathing space from the play-out positions.
A last minute goal meant that Brescia came away with all three points as they beat Bari 3-2 at the Stadio Rigamonti.
Valerio Di Cesare put the Leonessa in front but Francesco Caputo equalised for the visitors halfway through the second half.
Then in the first minute of injury time it was Sodinha who found the net to give Brescia the three points to move out of the play-out positions.
In other matches, Ternana beat Modena 1-0 and there was also a goalless draw between Vicenza and Livorno.
In the 83rd minute, young Uruguayan striker Felipe Avenatti got the winner for Fere to claim the three points and move up to 14th in the table.
A 0-0 draw between Vicenza and Livorno leaves the latter in joint second place and Vicenza just adrift of the play-off positions in 10th place.
