Bologna defeated Lecce 1-0 and Pisa moved into third place after beating Ascoli 2-1 to take advantage of slip-ups by table toppers Brescia and Albinoleffe.

Bologna grabbed a precious victory over one of their direct competitors for the promotion spots. The heavy rain on the Stadio Dall’Ara made entertaining play rather difficult, but both sides still had plenty of chances. Bombardini broke through after the restart with a precise angled drive from the edge of the box. Lecce poured forward, even after Esposito’s dismissal, but could not find an equaliser.

Scorers: Bombardini 53 (B)
Sent off: Esposito 86 (L)
Bologna: Antonioli; Daino, Moras (Costa 25), Castellini, Bonetto; Confalone, Carrus, Amoroso; Bombardini; Adailton (Lavecchia 71), Marazzina (Cipriani 79)
Lecce: Rosati; Polenghi, Diamoutene, Esposito; Angelo (Valdes 57), Munari, Zanchetta, Ariatti, Vives (Ardito 61); Abbruscato, Tiribocchi (Tulli 74)

Pisa 2-1 Ascoli
Pisa notched up their fourth consecutive victory to keep hold of third place in Serie B – an extraordinary start for the newly promoted side. It took just three minutes to open the scoring as Cerci carried on a corner kick and thumped an angled drive into the far corner from the edge of the box. Job drew Ascoli level through his header, but Kutuzov ran on to D’Anna’s pass to place a low finish past Taibi. The visitors fought back in the second half, but Soncin’s stoppage-time goal was flagged offside. The fourth official ordered that Perrulli be sent off for dissent in a tense finale.

Messina 2-1 Albinoleffe
Albinoleffe lose their unbeaten record and the leadership of Serie B, as the run of five consecutive victories comes to a sudden halt. Ruopolo had made it look like a sixth on the trot when he gave the visitors the lead in the opening four minutes with a precise left-foot curler. Messina came to life in the second half with substitute Degano, who dispossessed Garlini to equalise and then set up Lazzari’s winner.

Cesena 1-1 Brescia
Brescia shot themselves in the foot with this draw, but despite the result go clear at the top of Serie B thanks to Albinoleffe’s defeat. Possanzini set up Dallamano’s opening angled drive from distance and, as Cesena pushed forward, this left room for the Rondinelle and Blasi brought down Possanzini in a clear scoring opportunity. The red card and penalty were inevitable, but Tacchinardi cracked his spot-kick against the post. Despite playing against 10 men, Brescia were under pressure and Zambelli fouled Turati for Moscardelli’s penalty. Tacchinardi’s bad day ended on an even worse note with a second bookable offence, but with the final kick of the game Lima failed to make the most of a defensive slip by hitting the bar.

Avellino 0-1 Piacenza
Piacenza appear to have put their disastrous start behind them, picking up maximum points with minimum fuss on neutral turf in Grosseto. Padalino secured the victory with a powerful free kick from 28 metres out. Avellino tried to get back into it with a late push, but this left too much space at the back and Riccio hit the bar on the counter.

Bari 0-0 Grosseto
Bari goalkeeper Gillet was the hero at the Stadio San Nicola after saving a stoppage-time penalty from Dall’Acqua. The referee had pointed to the spot for Di Dio’s shirt-tug on Zecchin, but Grosseto were unable to make the most of this opportunity. Before then, Rajcic, Carozza, Santoruvo and Valeri had the best chances.

Chievo 2-2 Rimini
This promotion showdown was a spectacular encounter for the fans at the Stadio Bentegodi, even if almost all the action was contained within the last 13 minutes of the first half. Vitello held back Iunco, allowing Marcolini to convert Chievo’s penalty. Rimini turned the situation around in four minutes, as Jeda netted two almost identical goals, both at full stretch to meet a Pagano cross. They were still celebrating when Luciano’s deflected header made it 2-2. Cesar saw red on the hour mark, but it was the Flying Donkeys who had the best chances to win it with Gasparetto and Pellissier denied by goalkeeper Pugliesi.

Mantova 3-2 Modena
Mantova end their run of three consecutive defeats, but were made to work hard for the points against Modena. Di Cesare gave them the advantage on 36 minutes, but Bruno’s header equalised. A chaotic series of goals followed in quick succession, Corona pouncing on a defensive error to set up Godeas’ tap-in. Moments later Frey’s handling offence gave Caridi a penalty, although Modena got it back to 3-2 with Bruno’s right-foot screamer.

Ravenna 0-2 Frosinone
Frosinone leap up the standings with this important victory, but Ravenna’s finishing let them down. Although the home side had most of the possession, they struggled to test the goalkeeper and instead conceded at the first real attempt from Lodi. Substitute Dedic put the result beyond doubt when he skipped past both Centurioni and Pivotto to lob Capecchi.

Spezia 5-2 Treviso
Spezia fought back from a goal down to completely demolish Treviso in this thrilling encounter. It had all started so well for the visitors with Scaglia hitting the bar just before Pia’s header. However, Spezia sprung into action. Colombo tapped in Do Prado’s corner kick and Bonucci brought down Colombo for Saverino’s penalty. Treviso were still in the game at this point and made it 2-2 with Bonucci meeting Scaglia’s corner kick and Viali was unfortunate to be denied by the post. On the stroke of half-time Guidetti’s lob put the home side ahead against the run of play, but the second period was entirely one-sided with Do Prado’s fantastic free kick and a Guidetti volley.

Vicenza 2-2 Triestina
The Stadio Menti match ended in dramatic and controversial fashion, as 10-man Triestina scraped a point with a hotly contested penalty for the final kick of the game. Vicenza had taken the lead when Masiello set up Rigoni’s finish and Petras equalised by nodding in a corner kick. However, Petras went from hero to villain for the visitors when he brought down Schwoch, leading to a dismissal and penalty. The game seemed to be over, but the referee saw a foul on Kyriazis and Sgrigna kept his cool to convert, denying Vicenza their first win of the season.    Channel4.com

Serie B Table

20 points - Brescia, 19 points - Albinoleffe, 18 - Pisa, 17 - Lecce, 15 - Chievo Bologna, 13 - Frosinone, 12 - Ascoli  Rimini, 11 - Modena  Mantova  Messina, 10 - Bari, 9 - Triestina  Piacenza, 8 - Grosseto, 7 - Ravenna, 6 - Spezia  Treviso, 5 - Cesena  Vicenza, 3 - Avellino

In Italian: Serie B: il Brescia frena, Stop AlbinoLeffe, Pisa 3°