Test Match | Verona beat Lugano 3-1 at the AIL Arena

Lugano – The test match between Lugano and Hellas Verona ended in a 3-1 victory for the Gialloblù.

Turning to the match action, Hellas made a strong start, pressing high up the pitch and winning a dangerous free-kick in the first minute. Dawidowicz went for goal directly, with the ball rising just over the crossbar.

Another free-kick for Verona followed in the fourth minute. Sarr delivered into the box, with the ball falling to Le Borgne, who opened up his body and went for the far corner from the edge of the box, narrowly missing the post following a deflection off an opponent. From the resulting corner, De Battisti collected the defence's clearance and fired a right-footed effort across goal, narrowly missing the target.

Lugano threatened for the first time in the 12th minute. Dos Santos drove forward through the middle before getting a shot away that tested Gialloblù goalkeeper Perilli.

Mosquera had his first chance after 15 minutes: the striker received a fine first-time pass from Lella in the heart of the penalty area. The Colombian forward held off his marker with his back to goal, turned and struck a left-footed effort that went wide to the right of the Lugano goalkeeper.

Verona took the lead in the 19th minute. Perilli cleared a dangerous ball from the Gialloblù penalty area, finding Mosquera making a run in behind. The striker held off his opponent, skipped past Gebhardt and slotted the ball home to make it 0-1 to Hellas.

Lugano immediately came close to an equaliser, with Castro's low left-footed effort forcing a superb save from Perilli. The hosts found the net from the rebound, but the goal was ruled out for offside. The score remained 0-1 to Hellas.

In the 28th minute, Verona deservedly doubled their lead with a superb long-range strike from Sezonienko. The Polish midfielder received the ball in the attacking third before unleashing a powerful right-footed effort that flew into the top corner. It was 0-2 at the AIL Arena.

Following Sezonienko's goal, the intensity of the match dropped, with neither side creating further chances before the 45th minute. The first half therefore ended 0-2 in favour of the Gialloblù.

Lugano halved the deficit immediately after the restart. A long ball found Ajeti, who played Castro through inside the box. The Bianconeri forward got a toe to the ball, beating Perilli as he came off his line. It was 1-2 at the AIL Arena in the 46th minute.

A minute later, the Ticinese side came close to equalising, with a through ball sending Dos Santos clear inside the penalty area. With only Perilli to beat, he dragged his left-footed effort too far across goal and hit the post.

Verona responded in the 50th minute, with Fallou firing a right-footed volley from the edge of the box that went wide. Shortly afterwards, Harroui also came close, sending a left-footed effort over the bar from a good position.

Verona restored their two-goal advantage in the 56th minute. Harroui tried his luck from distance with a right-footed effort, Gebhardt could only parry the ball away, and Iannoni was quickest to react to the rebound, tapping into an empty net to make it 1-3 for Hellas.

Three minutes later, Iannoni came close to a second, cutting inside before firing a right-footed effort from a tight angle following a fine team move from the Gialloblù. Gebhardt made a short save, but the Bianconeri defence cleared the danger.

In the 83rd minute, Ekuban went on a solo run through the middle before firing a right-footed effort that was comfortably dealt with by the hosts' goalkeeper.

Towards the end of the match, Lugano won three free-kicks from promising positions, but never seriously threatened the Gialloblù defence.

The match ended without added time, with Verona running out 3-1 winners.

The Verona's next fixture is on Sunday 11 October at 7.30PM, when the Gialloblù travel to face Modena at the 'Braglia' Stadium in a Matchday 6 fixture in Serie BKT 2026/27.

LUGANO-HELLAS VERONA 1-3
Goals: 19' Mosquera, 28' Sezonienko, 46' Castro, 56' Iannoni

LUGANO (3-5-2): Gebhardt; Papadopoulos (Mai 46'), Kelvin, Bichsel (Carbone 60'); Zanotti (Cimignani 46'), Dos Santos (Ajdin 60'), Grgic (Bislimi 46'), Kendouci (Jakupovic 80'), Marques Martim (Pihlstrom 46'); Castro, Ajeti (Gervasini 80')
Substitutes: Mina, Raffa
Head Coach: Mattia Croci-Torti

HELLAS VERONA (4-3-3): Perilli; Zappa, Dawidowicz (Tagne 77'), Calabrese (Frese 74'), De Battisti (Fallou 46'); Lella (Bernede 46'), Iannoni (Ekuban 62'), Le Borgne (Harroui 46'); Sezonienko (Zanin 77'), Mosquera (Akale 46'), Sarr (Livramento 46')
Substitutes: Leali, Raccanello, Albertini, Luchetti
Head Coach: Marco Baroni

Referee: Luca Piccolo (Bellinzona Section)
Assistant Referees: Silvano Giulini (Ticino Section), Adrian Lanz (Zurich Section)
NOTES. Yellow cards: 18' Mosquera, 46' Harroui