A 2-0 scoreline suggests comfort. The numbers behind Reggiana's win over Sambenedettese tell a different story. Jacopo Furlan was called into action again and again, finishing with six saves and a clean sheet that he earned rather than simply collected.
Reggiana's forwards did the scoring, but it was the goalkeeper who carried an 8.7 match rating out of the game, the kind of mark reserved for a night when a keeper is the difference between a routine win and a nervy one.
A Clean Sheet Under Pressure
Six saves is not a quiet shift. Sambenedettese kept testing Furlan from range and in close, and each time he was equal to it. The final whistle confirmed what the shot count already suggested: this was a shutout built on reflexes and positioning, not on an opponent who never threatened.
Reggiana will take the three points and the clean sheet in the result column. But anyone looking at the performance data from Girone B this weekend will see Furlan's name near the top for a reason that has nothing to do with the scoreline.
For a defence, a 2-0 win with six saves conceded from the opposite goalkeeper often means the back four had an off night. For Furlan personally, it meant a rating that stood out even in a league where clean sheets are common currency. On this occasion, the shut-out came the hard way.