Cittadella beats Verona 2-0 in Serie B playoff final 1st leg

CITTADELLA, Italy (AP) — Davide Diaw scored in each half to help Cittadella beat Hellas Verona 2-0 in the first leg of the Serie B playoff final on Thursday.

Diaw headed in the opener in the sixth minute and fired in a rebound 10 minutes from time to give his side the advantage ahead of Sunday’s return fixture.

Cittadella has never played in the top flight of Italian football, while Verona was relegated from Serie A last year.

Verona finished the regular season fifth, a point ahead of seventh-place Cittadella.

The two cities are approximately 80 kilometers from each other.