Alberto Paloschi was the hero, and almost the villain, as Chievo beat Palermo 1-0 on Saturday evening in Serie A at the Stadio Bentegodi.
Paloschi opened the scoring after 35 minutes with a smartly taken goal, the Chievo striker had a chance to make it 2-0 in the second half from the penalty spot but missed the target, putting the ball into orbit, yet ultimately the error went unpunished and the hosts hung on.
Riccardo Meggiorini had the game’s first chance after some sloppy defending allowed Chievo to find the forward with a long throw but his strike hit the side netting.
The home side had two chances in the eighth minute but both times Meggiorini was unable to hit the target after getting on the end of crosses from the wings.
Paulo Dybala came close to opening the scoring in the 12th minute after some clumsy Chievo defending sent the striker through on goal but he was denied by a brilliant Albano Bizzarri save.
The Flying Donkeys almost struck back on the counterattack from the subsequent corner but Stefano Sorrentino got down bravely at Meggiorini’s feet to claim the ball.
Chievo continued to press forwards and two minutes later Meggiorini had a deflected effort saved after a good driving run forwards from Mariano Izco.
Chievo took the lead in the 35nd minute through Paloschi after a long ball was cleverly flicked on by Meggiorini into the striker’s path and he did well to beat his markers and slot home into the bottom left corner and the Gialloblu went into the break goal up.
Palermo started quickly in the second half but Chievo came close to doubling their lead in the 51st minute from a corner where an Ervin Zukanovic header forced an amazing save from Sorrentino.
Chievo won a penalty on the hour mark after Paloschi was through on goal only for the ball to bounce up and hit the hand of the last man back Sinisa Andelkovic.
The striker stepped up to take the penalty he won himself only to horribly slice over the bar.
The Rosanero had a chance to equalise in the 65th minute but Andelkovic headed narrowly wide from a corner.
The Sicilians had a good chance in the 68th minute after Franco Vasquez was left unmarked on the left but his shot was well-blocked.
The match became stretched with 20 minutes to go but neither side was either to find a way through the opposition defences despite the efforts of Ruben Botta for Chievo and Dybala for Palermo.
The Gialloblu had a chance to finish it in the 74th minute after Ezequiel Schelotto nodded the ball back to Paloschi but his close range shot was deflected straight into the hands of Sorrentino.
Vasquez rattled the bar with a powerful volley in the 80th minute after a Palermo corner was headed down to the Argentine inside the area.
The Rosanero continued to press in the dying stages and were only denied by desperate Chievo defending at points.
Andelkovic was sent off in the 85th minutes after picking up a second yellow card trying to stop a Chievo counterattack.
The Gialloblu were able to see the game off safely and they limited Palermo to desperate long shots as they chased the late equaliser.
