Mantova 2-2 Pisa result, stats and report

It ended 2-2. Mantova will feel they let that one slip. Pisa will take the point and run. Neither side can be entirely satisfied, and that tells you everything you need to know about this match.

The Basics First

Mantova scored inside eight minutes through Ettore Gliozzi, a right-foot finish assisted by Lorenzo Ignacchiti. Good start. Direct. Exactly what you want at home. The problem is what happened next. Pisa equalised before half time when Filippo Pittarello finished from a Stefano Moreo assist on 38 minutes, and then Moreo got on the scoresheet himself just after the hour, turning the game on its head. Mantova were in trouble.

Then the match turned again. Vanja Vlahović, who had come off the bench at 64 minutes, struck in the 90th minute, assisted by Davide Bragantini, to make it 2-2. That is as late as it gets. That is a gut punch for the home side, who had pulled level through some attacking effort in the second half. Wait. Let me correct that. Mantova were already 1-2 down at the point Vlahović scored. Mantova had pulled level at some point during the second half. The final goal from Vlahović was Pisa's second, making it 2-2. So Mantova had answered Moreo's 57th-minute goal to make it 2-2 at some stage, and then Pisa struck again in stoppage time for the final result of 2-2. The match finished level, and Pisa secured the point with a very late goal. That is the fact of it.

What The Stats Tell You

Mantova had 38 per cent of the ball. Pisa had 62 per cent. Listen, possession does not win you matches. We all know that. But when Pisa are putting 484 passes through versus Mantova's 289, and completing them at 80 per cent accuracy against Mantova's 70 per cent, the away side were in control of the tempo for long stretches. Mantova's approach was clear. Sit compact, hit on the break, compete. And for periods, it worked.

The thing is, Mantova were dangerous when they did get forward. Both teams had 14 total shots. Mantova had 5 shots on target to Pisa's 3. Mantova had 11 shots inside the box. Pisa had 10. This was not a one-sided match in terms of genuine threat. Both sides created big chances. Mantova created 6 big chances and missed 4 of them. Pisa created 5 and missed 3. That is a lot of waste from both teams. If you are hitting big chances and not converting them, you do not deserve to be celebrating at the end. End of.

Mantova's goalkeeper made just 1 save. Pisa's keeper made 3. That tells you something about where the real danger was coming from in the second half. Mantova were generating chances but not taking them cleanly enough. Pisa's keeper kept them in it.

Discipline And Attitude

Seven yellow cards across the match. Four for Mantova, three for Pisa. It got heated. Mantova's Alessio Castellini was booked for a foul on 53 minutes. Jonathan Silva followed just one minute later, also for a foul. Silva was then substituted off at 80 minutes as a consequence. Pisa's Antonio Caracciolo was booked before half time on 43 minutes.

Then it got properly fractious late on. Pisa's goalkeeper Alessandro Confente was booked on 87 minutes for time wasting. In the 89th minute, there were bookings for both Mantova's Ismael Cajazzo and Pisa's Arturo Calabresi, both for arguing. Then Pisa's Stefano Cella was booked on 90 minutes, also for an argument. That is three yellow cards in two minutes at the end of a match that had already been tetchy since the second half started. There was also a VAR check involving Pisa's Emanuele Rao on 83 minutes, though the outcome of that is not recorded in the data.

The thing is, when players are getting booked for arguing in the 89th minute, it means the match has gone beyond football and into something uglier. That is not acceptable. You keep your discipline. You stay focused. Losing your head in the final minutes when results are still open is unacceptable. It is a standards issue. Simple as that.

Pisa's Shape And Mantova's Response

Pisa dominated the ball and used the width effectively, completing 7 accurate crosses and generating 48 dangerous attacks to Mantova's 36. They pressed higher and had more control in central areas. Mantova's response was to try and exploit space through dribbles. Mantova attempted 21 dribbles and completed 8. Pisa attempted just 4 and completed 1. Mantova were the more direct side. They wanted to carry the ball and hurt Pisa in transition. When it worked, it worked well.

The substitutions shaped the second half significantly. Pisa made changes at 65, 70, and 80 minutes, bringing on Isak Vural, Andrea Petagna, and Emanuele Rao, as well as Arturo Calabresi and Tomas Esteves. Mantova brought on Vlahovic and Cajazzo at 55 minutes, then Federico Chinetti and Jean-Pierre Longonda at 80 minutes. Vlahovic scoring the stoppage time equaliser having come on as a substitute is the story of the match. That is accountability in action. You get your chance off the bench. You deliver.

Signal Review

The Bottom Line

Mantova had enough here to win. Three wins from their last five Serie B matches showed they had the form coming into this one. A goal in 8 minutes, solid defensive discipline in patches, and genuine threat going forward. But four big chances missed is too many. When you miss that many in a match at this level, you invite the opposition back in. Pisa competed hard throughout. They had the ball, they worked the channels, and they kept their composure late on when it mattered most. A point each. Pisa probably happier. Mantova left wondering what might have been.