Frosinone flew into sixth place in the Serie A table, only one point behind Milan, as they swept sorry Lecce aside 5-1 in an historic start to the season.
The Canarini have been the surprise outfit of the season so far since their promotion from Serie B and fresh from the weekend's epic 4-4 draw with Atalanta . Florian Grillitsch was still out with a muscular issue.
Lecce had Kialonda Gaspar suspended after the red card in a 2-0 defeat to Juventus, with Santiago Pierotti, Ivan Ilic, Lassana Coulibaly and Medon Berisha injured. There was another problem when Willem Geubbels sustained an injury in the warm-up, so Paco Esteban stepped in for a reshuffled 3-5-2 formation.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
BERGAMO, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Head Coach of Frosinone Calcio Massimiliano Alvini looks during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Frosinone Calcio at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia on October 25, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
The first genuine opportunity was for Lecce, as Joel Monteiro's right-foot curler from the edge of the area forced Lorenzo Palmisani to palm it out from under the crossbar.
After a couple of scuffed attempts, Frosinone broke the deadlock when Fares Ghedjemis laid it off from the right for Matteo Cichella to sweep in first-time from just inside the box, keeping his right-foot finish hard and low into the near bottom corner.
ITALY – OCTOBER 29: Matteo Cichella of Frosinone Calcio celebrates after scoring opening goal during the Serie A match between Frosinone Calcio and US Lecce at Stadio Benito Stirpe on October 29, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)
It was nearly 2-0 with Giorgi Kvernadze sent clear by Romano Schmid and cutting inside a defender, but Wladimiro Falcone got down for the desperate save on the angled drive.
There was controversy on the stroke of half-time, as first Omri Gandelman went down under pressure from Giacomo Calò, then Frosinone went on the counter-attack and Kvernadze tried to cut inside Jamil Siebert, with minimal contact considered enough by the referee for a penalty. It was a very soft spot-kick, but converted successfully by Calò.
ITALY – OCTOBER 29: Giacomo Calò of Frosinone Calcio kicks the penalty and scores goal 2-0 during the Serie A match between Frosinone Calcio and US Lecce at Stadio Benito Stirpe on October 29, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)
Amar Fatah came on and Lecce returned to a four-man defence, the substitute stinging Palmisani's gloves from distance, while Falcone needed big saves on the Ghedjemis low drive and Anthony Oyono header from the resulting corner.
Raimondo bolstered the scoreline when he started the move with a long kick from inside his own half to send Kvernadze down the left, then ran all the way forward to meet the return pass and sweep home from 10 yards. It was his eighth Serie A goal of the season, making him joint Capocannoniere with Monza's Gustavo Varela.
Daniel Birligea had been on the field for just two minutes when he ran onto the inspired Romano Schmid ball and put it into the net. His celebration was cut short by the offside flag, but VAR confirmed he was level with the ball and the goal stood.
Lecce did eventually get something to show for their efforts when Olaf Gorter robbed Anouar El Azzouzi in midfield and went on the counter, Monteiro bending his right-foot finish into the far bottom corner from just inside the box.
With the last kick of the game, a corner was taken short and Kvernadze pulled back from the by-line for Birligea to turn in from seven yards and seal the rout.
It is the best ever start to a Serie A season for a newly-promoted club, equal with Juventus on their return from Serie B in 2007.
Cichella 25 (F), Calò pen 45 (F), Raimondo 59 (F), Birligea 72, 94 (F), Monteiro 82 (L)
