Cuppone Strike Lifts Virtus Entella Past Padova in Tight Serie B Clash

Virtus Entella edged Padova Calcio 1–0 in a closely contested Serie B encounter on matchday 36, with substitute-driven momentum and a late strike from Luigi Cuppone proving decisive.

The match in the regular season phase remained goalless for more than 70 minutes, with both sides unable to capitalise on their openings. Padova picked up the first booking in the 19th minute when Giulio Favale was shown a yellow card, before Leonardo Benedetti of Entella entered the referee’s book on 32 minutes. Francesco Di Mariano (53’) and Lorenzo Villa (90’) later joined the list of Padova players cautioned as the visitors pushed to stay competitive.

Serie B FINISHED

2026-04-25 13:00

ACD Virtus Entella

1 - 0

Padova Calcio

Matchday 36 REGULAR_SEASON

Padova head coach turned to his bench just before the hour, bringing on Alessandro Seghetti for Mattia Bortolussi in the 59th minute and Gianluca Caprari for Di Mariano a minute later. Entella responded with their own double switch on 62 and 63 minutes, introducing Niccolò Squizzato for Benedetti and Mattia Tirelli for Bernat Guiu in search of greater attacking spark.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 76th minute. Davide Bariti supplied the decisive pass and Luigi Cuppone finished clinically to put Virtus Entella 1–0 ahead. The goal stood as the only one of the afternoon and shifted the tactical picture, forcing Padova into further attacking substitutions, including Carlo Faedo and Luca Di Maggio at the 70-minute mark and Jonathan Silva for Favale in the 78th minute.

Entella focused on protecting their narrow lead in the closing stages, replacing both goal-scorer Cuppone and provider Bariti in the 82nd minute, and later bringing on Marco Nichetti for Nermin Karic on 88 minutes to shore up midfield.

The hosts saw out the final minutes to secure a valuable 1–0 victory. Detailed statistics such as possession, shots, and full lineups were not available at the time of writing.

For more on Serie B and this fixture, visit the Serie B page on Ballaxy or the full match centre.

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Serie B Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Venezia FC	37	23	10	4	75	31	44	79	D W W D W
2	Frosinone Calcio	37	22	12	3	71	34	37	78	W W W D W
3	AC Monza	37	22	9	6	59	30	29	75	L W W W D
4	Palermo FC	37	20	12	5	61	31	30	72	W D W D W
5	US Catanzaro	37	15	14	8	60	48	12	59	L W D D D
6	Modena FC 2018	37	15	10	12	49	35	14	55	W L L D D
7	SS Juve Stabia	37	11	17	9	43	44	-1	50	L D D W L
8	Mantova 1911 SSD	37	13	7	17	45	52	-7	46	W W L W W
9	AC Cesena	37	12	10	15	42	52	-10	46	D D L L D
10	Calcio Avellino SSD	37	12	10	15	42	55	-13	46	L W W D L
11	Carrarese Calcio	37	10	14	13	46	50	-4	44	D L D L W
12	UC Sampdoria	37	11	11	15	35	47	-12	44	W D L W W
13	Padova Calcio	37	11	10	16	35	46	-11	43	W L W W L
14	Empoli FC	37	9	13	15	45	52	-7	40	W L D L L
15	FC Südtirol	37	8	16	13	37	47	-10	40	L L L D D
16	ACD Virtus Entella	37	9	12	16	34	50	-16	39	L W D D L
17	SSC Bari	37	9	10	18	35	58	-23	37	W L L L W
18	Delfino Pescara 1936	37	7	13	17	50	65	-15	34	L D D L W
19	Spezia Calcio	37	8	10	19	42	58	-16	34	D L W L L
20	AC Reggiana	37	8	10	19	35	56	-21	34	L D L W L