23 January 2015
With last season’s away record seeing them only pick up 16 points out of a possible 57 on the road, an all-round improvement was needed in this 2014/15 campaign for a Chievo outfit who only escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last time out.
Buoyed by a host of new signings, they began their season away from the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi with a bang when former striker Maxi Lopez’s finish ensured a sterling 1-0 success over Napoli at the San Paolo in September.
However, Chievo were brought straight back down to earth in their following encounters as Sampdoria (2-1), Milan (2-0), Roma (3-0) and Palermo (1-0) all came away with the points. That defeat at the hands of the Giallorossi proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Eugenio Corini’s second stint at the helm, with Rolando Maran drafted in as his replacement.
November's international break appeared to do the Gialloblu some good though, as a 1-1 draw away at Udinese in their first game back heralded the start of a four-match unbeaten streak outside of Verona.
Maran’s men then enjoyed a 2-0 victory in Cagliari before ending 2014 with a 1-0 success in the Verona derby, courtesy of top scorer Alberto Paloschi’s strike nine minutes from time.
With their home form proving to be a sticking point (their record currently reads one victory, four draws and five defeats), Dejan Lazarevic’s last-gasp equaliser in this month’s 1-1 away draw at 10-man Atalanta could prove to be priceless come the end of the campaign.
The Gialloblu’s status in next season’s Serie A may also hinge on how their record away from the Bentegodi continues until May 2015.
And if they were to head to the home of the reigning champions and bring back all three points this weekend, thus equalling their win total from the 2013/14 campaign, it would go some way to keeping them dining at the top table of Italian football for a seventh successive season.
