Serie A: Monza's Relegation Worries Deepen After Loss to Verona

Monza's relegation woes intensified as they succumbed to a 1-0 home defeat to Verona, courtesy of a comical Stefan Lekovic own goal.

Monza's relegation woes deepened after a demoralizing home defeat to Verona, sealed by a comical Stefan Lekovic own goal. The rock-bottom team was severely depleted, with Alessandro Bianco suspended and Gianluca Caprari, Luca Caldirola, Alessio Cragno, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Samuele Birindelli, Warren Bondo, Matteo Pessina, and Roberto Gagliardini all sidelined due to injury.

New signing Gaetano Castrovilli was added to the Monza squad following Daniel Maldini's transfer to Atalanta. Meanwhile, Verona was without Ondrej Duda, who was serving a ban, while Davide Faraoni, Casper Tengstedt, and Abdou Harroui were nursing injuries.

Monza had a golden opportunity to take the lead after just six minutes when Stefano Sensi was dispossessed in midfield, sparking a counter-attack. However, Stefano Turati managed to fingertip Amin Sarr's daisy-cutter around the base of the near post.

Verona took the lead in farcical circumstances, courtesy of Stefan Lekovic's own goal. Suat Serdar burst down the right flank and pulled the ball back from the by-line, finding Lekovic, who clumsily bundled the ball into his own net from just a couple of yards out.

Verona take all three points in Monza 🏁#MonzaVerona pic.twitter.com/dPiIACeoLm

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) February 1, 2025

Serdar attempted to lob Turati from midfield, while Dany Mota Carvalho's curler was smothered by Lorenzo Montipò. However, Serdar's involvement was cut short as he succumbed to injury at halftime. Cheikh Niasse should have doubled Verona's lead on the counter-attack, but drilled his effort inches wide of the near post. Gaetano Castrovilli made his Monza debut in the second half, following his move from Lazio.

Monza suffered another setback when goalkeeper Stefano Turati was forced off due to injury, prompting the introduction of substitute Semuel Pizzignacco. The new goalkeeper was immediately thrust into action, making two crucial saves from corners, first denying Daniele Ghilardi and then Daniel Mosquera.

Tomas Suslov attempted to extend Verona's lead, unleashing a couple of angled drives, but both efforts sailed off target. Meanwhile, Monza's Kevin Martins proved to be a handful for the Verona defense, using his pace to make several sprints to the by-line and cause trouble.

In the dying embers of the match, Dany Mota Carvalho's glancing header from a Patrick Ciurria corner narrowly missed the target, drifting just wide of the far post. This near-miss ensured that Monza's defeat was confirmed, leaving them to ponder what might have been.