Palermo reaches the semifinal playoffs of Serie B. The Sicilians overcame Sampdoria 2-0 thanks to a brace from Salim Diakité; the French defender was ready and attentive in the penalty area, taking advantage of Samp's lapses. An important victory that allows the rosanero club to advance to the next round of the playoffs for promotion to Serie A. The next opponent for Mignani's team is Venezia, in the double-legged tie. This time, however, Palermo will have only one result in the double confrontation, as in the event of a draw the Venetians would advance due to a better placement in the regular season.
How much does promotion to Serie A earn: Como and Parma about 25 million euros
The Match
Palermo immediately shows its desire to win and after one minute comes close to scoring with Soleri's acrobatics in the penalty area. The two teams study each other for a long time trying to find spaces without exposing themselves but when the rosanero manage to penetrate, they create dangers, like when Insigne finds himself a few meters from the goal and misses the left-footed layoff. At the end of the first half, it's Palermo who gains courage with Soleri hitting a header, but Stankovic stretches out and saves it. After a few minutes, at the 43rd, the goal comes with Diakité who collects a rebound in the box and shoots from the edge of the area into the bottom right corner: Sampdoria's goalkeeper is motionless and it's 1-0.
Returning from the locker room charges the rosanero, who find the second goal again with Diakité. The defender at the 47th minute shoots low to the ground on an assist from Lund and makes it 2-0, suddenly appearing in the opponent's penalty area. Sampdoria is stunned and the match is safely in the hands of the rosanero. Ranocchia's shot off target a few minutes later is the only real offensive action of the second half which sees the pace become more bland. A match fought valiantly with Palermo defending the score well and even finding the third goal on a counterattack with Di Francesco, but the referee disallows it for offside. Little changes, because Palermo takes home the victory in front of more than 32 thousand at the Barbera. Now all the efforts of the rosanero are directed towards the first leg game with Venezia, scheduled for Monday, May 20 at the Barbera. The return match, on the other hand, will be on Friday, May 24 at the Penzo.
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