Crotone confirmed their promotion ambitions with a 4-0 destruction of one of Serie B’s surprises in Salernitana.
I Granata, who were promoted from Lega Pro last season, have stunned observers of the league with their confidence, which has led them to get a return of eight points from five games.
However, in their sixth game of the season they were harshly brought back down to earth. The Squali who had been in good form before the match, started with a lightning pace and took the lead in the 12th minute. Former Chievo midfielder Adrian Stoian produced a brilliant run beating two defenders, before he stopped and curled in from 12 yards out.
And just seven minutes later Stoian was to be involved in the Rossoblu’s second goal. After picking the ball up just inside Salernitana’s half, he played in forward Federico Ricci, who carefully placed his finish between the goalkeepers legs to make it 2-0 within the first 20 minutes.
Crotone continued to dominate Salernitana, and would have sealed the win in the first-half if their finishing had been a bit more accurate.
Despite this, it wasn’t long, two minutes to be precise, until the Squali sealed the three points in the second 45. Stoian once again created the goal with a powerful run down the left-wing before firing across the box for Ricci to hit first time past Pietro Terracciano in the Granata goal.
The night only got worse for Salernitana when Michael Franco received a second yellow card for a shocking challenge on the Romanian Stoian.
Crotone’s fourth came after striker Ante Budimir was brought down in the box by Terracciano. From the resulting penalty substitute Joseph Torromino fired home to put the Rossoblu level on 13 points with pace setters Livorno.
