Frosinone thrashed Lecce 5-1 in their Serie A encounter on Thursday to move into sixth place, extending their impressive start to the season following promotion from Serie B.
The victory took Frosinone to within one point of AC Milan, as they continued their unexpected push towards the European qualification places.
They have emerged as one of the league’s surprise teams, having also played out an entertaining 4-4 draw against Atalanta at the weekend.
Matteo Cichella opened the scoring in the 25th minute, finishing a pass from Fares Ghedjemis with a low shot into the bottom corner.
The hosts doubled their advantage just before half-time when Giacomo Calò converted a penalty awarded after Giorgi Kvernadze went down under pressure from Jamil Siebert.
Antonio Raimondo made it 3-0 in the 59th minute after starting a move from inside his own half before racing forward to meet Kvernadze’s return pass and finish from close range.
The goal was his eighth of the Serie A campaign, putting him level with Monza’s Gustavo Varela in the league’s scoring charts.
Substitute Daniel Birligea extended Frosinone’s lead in the 72nd minute, finishing Romano Schmid’s pass after coming on just two minutes earlier.
Although his initial celebration was interrupted by an offside decision, a VAR review confirmed the goal.
Lecce pulled one back in the 82nd minute through Joel Monteiro, who curled a right-footed effort into the far bottom corner after Olaf Gorter won possession in midfield and launched a counter-attack.
However, Frosinone had the final say in stoppage time when Birligea scored his second of the evening.
Giorgi Kvernadze delivered a pass from the byline, allowing the forward to turn the ball into the net from close range and complete the emphatic victory.
The result equalled Juventus’ achievement in 2007, when they returned from Serie B, as Frosinone recorded one of the best starts to a Serie A campaign by a newly promoted side.
