Alberto Paloschi scored a hat-trick to help Chievo move five points clear of the Serie A relegation zone with a 4-2 victory over fellow strugglers Livorno this afternoon.
The home side made the perfect start and opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Luca Siligardi nodded in at the back post following Djamel Mesbah's header across goal.
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Within three minutes Chievo levelled, as Paloschi latched onto Matteo Rubin's header back into the box, before slotting the ball into the bottom corner past Francesco Bardi.
Midway through the first half the visitors took the lead through Cyril Thereau, who was picked out in the box by Paloschi and thumped a header into the net and out of the reach of the keeper.
In the 34th minute Livorno were awarded a penalty following Luca Rigoni's foul inside the box on Paulinho and the Brazilian made no mistake in converting from the spot.
On the stroke of half time Chievo regained the lead, as Paloschi met Perparim Hetemaj's drilled shot across the box to slot home from close range.
After the break Chievo continued to threaten and Paloschi scored their fourth of the afternoon from the penalty spot, following Marco Biagianti's foul on Ivan Radovanovic.
Livorno struggled to come up with a response, as Chievo saw the game out to ease their relegation fears and move up to 16th in the Serie A table.
Alex Meyers
