CESENA, Italy (Interstat) — Cesena opened its Serie B campaign with a commanding 3-1 victory over Catanzaro on Saturday, defying pregame projections at Orogel Stadium - Dino Manuzzi.

Substitute Mattia Liberali opened the scoring in the 34th minute. Forward Alberto Cerri then powered the win with a goal and an assist, scoring in the 59th before setting up defender Matteo Piacentini’s 72nd-minute strike. Cerri added his second goal in the 86th.

Catanzaro’s Tommaso Berti scored a consolation in stoppage time. The visitors finished with 10 men after Patrick Nuamah received a red card in the 87th minute. The result overturned a statistical forecast that heavily favored Catanzaro to win.