Cittadella shutout at home against Como.

Cittadella tasted defeat for the second time this season after losing to Como 0-3 at the Stadio Piercesare Tombolato on Sunday afternoon.

The Granata were coming off a sensational win on Monday against Sampdoria. Edoardo Gorini’s side were expected to play similarly to what they preformed in Genova, but the team fell to its second league defeat of the Serie B season.

Within the opening two minutes, Como took the lead through Nikolas Ioannou. The Cyprus international had an easy tap-in following a quick counter attack which was assisted by Alessio Iovine on the cross.

Como doubled its lead 30 minutes later thanks to a goal from Patrick Cutrone. It was Alessandro Bellemo getting forward, putting in a cross to the ex-Milan striker who spun his way around three Cittadella defenders, slotting his shot past keeper Elhan Kastrati.

Cittadella struggled to get the offense into the match. The Granata had only two shots on target in the first half, while also conceding three shots on frame to Como. The best chance of the half came on the stroke of halftime, where Luca Pandolfi had his rebounded shot blocked inside the penalty area.

Slow starts to the half proved to be costly for Cittadella once again as the visitors took a three-goal advantage five minutes after halftime. It was once again a counter attack down the left side, with Ioannou running down the pitch to find Cutrone inside the penalty box. The striker made no mistake in front of goal to bag his brace in the match.

Cittadella had lacked an attacking spark all game, which was much different in contrast to last Monday against Sampdoria. In addition to its attacking problems, captain Simone Branca came off the field in the 52nd minute due to an apparent groin injury. Edoardo Gorini couldn’t confirm his injury status after the match.

“We have to see tomorrow, I hope it’s nothing important,” Gorini said in his post-game interview. “In training he already had that groin pain […] Tomorrow we will verify.”

It’s a short turnaround for the Granata as they get ready to travel south to face Catanzaro on Wednesday night.

Top Photo: Paola Garbuio/LaPresse