Carlos Augusto and Pablo Mari defeated Spezia to give Monza three straight victories and clean sheets.
Under coach Raffaele Palladino, Monza were on a roll, winning both matches against Juventus and Sampdoria without giving up a goal. Following their 4-0 loss to Lazio, Spezia was without Jacopo Sala, Arkadiusz Reca, and Petko Hristov. Andrea Petagna and Luca Marrone were still nursing injuries.
The match got off to a contentious start when the referee gave Spezia a penalty in the first five minutes, which was later reversed after a VAR review revealed that even if the ball had struck Nicola Rovella’s hand, it had done so flush to the body and was therefore not deserving of a spot-kick.
A cheeky M’Bala Nzola back-heel nutmeg sent Kevin Agudelo down the right, but Armando Izzo crucially intercepted the pull-back. Patrick Ciurria tested Dragowski from a distance.
Carlos Augusto was released by Monza in a well-executed move, and from a tight angle, he fired a right-foot shot across the goalkeeper to give Monza the lead. The goal marked the midfielder’s first in Serie A.
When Agudelo was brought down on the edge of the box, Bourabia was able to convert a free kick over the crossbar. Later, Carlos Augusto attempted to sprint from his own half but ran out of gas and fired directly at Dragowski.
Pablo Mari successfully volleyed an Andrea Barberis corner from close range under the bar to give Monza a two-goal lead.
There were penalty appeals after Spezia’s Daniel Maldini stung Michele Di Gregorio’s gloves and came off the bench, but Emmanuel Gyasi’s shot appeared to strike Luca Caldirola in the ribs.
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