Palermo beat Juventus Stabia 1:0 in the opening round of the Serie B regular season on Saturday evening. The match finished with a single goal from D. Johnsen, who scored in the fourth minute and was then substituted himself at the end of the game. It was a result that kept Palermo's unbeaten start intact and extended a difficult run for the visitors.
Johnsen's opener came almost immediately, and from that point Juventus Stabia had to chase the game. They enjoyed more possession — 54 per cent — and created more big chances, three compared to one for the hosts. But they failed to convert, while Palermo's five shots on target produced the decisive result. To be fair, the away side did not lack attempts, but the accuracy was the same at 31 per cent for both teams.
The match was tight throughout, with five yellow cards shown and nine substitutions in total. Tommaso Cassandro was booked just before half-time, and Emmanuel Gyasi and Romeo Sandrucci picked up cautions late on. Palermo made three changes, bringing on Pohjanpalo, Johnsen and Patane in the 85th minute, while Juventus Stabia responded with substitutions for Buglio and Piscopo, and then added another at the same time.
By then the game was effectively over. Juventus Stabia had 234 passes in the opposition half against Palermo's 214, and they completed 368 of their 445 total passes compared to the hosts' 307 out of 374. They also won more tackles, 19 to 13, but the extra pressure did not produce a second goal. The statistics tell a familiar story — many chances without the reward.
The result leaves Palermo third with six points from two games, following a 2:0 win over Lecce before this. Juventus Stabia are 13th with one point, their only success coming from a 5:1 victory over Ischia earlier in the month. A draw would have given them something, but the clean sheet for Palermo meant they stayed ahead of the visitors in the table.
