MILAN — Chievo Verona drew 0-0 against Genoa in Serie A on Monday, thanks in part to Valter Birsa’s terrible penalty for the home side.
Birsa should have put Chievo ahead in the 37th minute after Riccardo Meggiorini was fouled by Ezequiel Munoz, but he blazed the spot kick over the crossbar.
Moments earlier, Meggiorini almost scored a stunning goal but saw his overhead kick come off the bar.
Genoa, which beat Juventus 3-1 in the previous round, also hit the woodwork with Nikola Ninkovic’s effort crashing off the right post in the 71st.
The two teams remained in mid table, separated by a point, although Genoa has played a match less than nearly all the other teams.
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UDINESE 1 BOLOGNA 0
Udinese marked its 120th anniversary with a last-gasp victory against 10-man Bologna.
Bologna defender Erick Pulgar was sent off in the 68th following two yellow cards in 10 minutes.
It looked as if Bologna was going to take a vital point, despite its numerical disadvantage, but Udinese captain Danilo acrobatically volleyed Silvan Widmer’s cross in off the underside of the crossbar in stoppage-time.
It was a magnificent strike no doubt appreciated by Udinese’s record goalscorer Antonio Di Natale, who was among a number of former players in the stands at Stadio Friuli.
Stipe Perica should have put Udinese in front earlier but fired over the bar from a good position and also had a header from point-blank range brilliantly stopped by Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Udinese moved up to 13th, while Bologna slipped to 16th, eight points off the relegation zone.