The joy of the FCS players. © FCS/Bordoni

Too hot for Palermo: This FC Südtirol beats everyone

Sicily is known to be the hottest region in Italy, but on this holiday, it wasn't just the sun that heated up the capital, Palermo. It was FC Südtirol that did it. They absolutely outshone their opponents and made a huge leap up the table. Relegation is now within reach!

01 May 2025

From the 'Stadio Renzo Barbera' in Palermo

Suddenly, FC Südtirol is just as far away from the playoff spots as it is from the relegation zone. How is that possible? The answer: The men in white and red celebrated a decisive victory in Palermo on Thursday, unexpectedly climbing into the middle of the table with the three points. FCS won 2-1 after trailing at halftime.

FC Südtirol not only made promotion hopefuls Palermo, who had previously won four of their five matches, sweat, they absolutely crushed them with a potent second half. At the end, the 20.000 home fans erupted into a chorus of boos.

However, one person at FC Südtirol was also sweating: coach Fabrizio Castori. For him, the early summer 27 degrees felt even hotter from his seat high up under the stadium roof. Since he was recently given a two-match ban, he was represented on the bench by his right-hand man Riccardo Bocchini.

FCS turns everything upside down

Given this constellation, the coaches were largely responsible for the away win. They made six changes to FCS's lineup after the win against Juve Stabia, but still kept the team structure and the on-field approach intact. The absence of Andrea Masiello and Raphael Odogwu, who had recently been strong, was forgotten in the second half, as the substitutes, Antonio Barreca and Gabriele Gori, completely turned the game on its head.

> Read the complete game progress in the ticker here.

After the game, the FCS players were celebrated by the approximately 60 traveling fans in the away section before leaving the pitch, exhausted. The flight departs north in the early evening, and once home, their attention is already turned to their next opponent. They only have two days left to prepare, as last-placed Cosenza visits the Drusus Stadium on Sunday. Then they could take another important step toward avoiding relegation.

US Palermo – FC Südtirol 1:2

Palermo: Audero; Baniya, Magnani (from 82. Le Douaron), Ceccaroni (from 53. Nikolaou); Di Mariano (from 65. Pierozzi), Gomes, Blin (from 82. Di Francesco), Lund; Segre, Brunori; Pohjanpalo
Coach: Dionisi

FCS: Adamonis; Giorgini, Pietrangeli, Veseli; El Kaouakibi, Belardinelli (from 71. Mallamo), Martini (from 63. Tait), Pyythiä (from 86. Kofler), Barreca (from 71. Davi); Merkaj, Gori (from 86. Gori).
Coach: Bocchini (Castori suspended)

Gates: 1:0 Pietro Ceccaroni (27th), 1:1 Antonio Barreca (47th), 1:2 Gabriele Gori (penalty/75th)

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