Sassuolo staged an upset of epic proportion as they bounced back from a 4-2 defeat at Frosinone with an emphatic 4-2 home victory over none other than high-flying Juventus. An enthralling encounter at the Mapei Stadium saw Alessio Dionisi’s side thrive in the face of adversity to arrest their visitors’ stellar Serie A start.
Dionisi headed into this fixture as the frontrunner to follow in the footsteps of ex-Empoli manager Paolo Zanetti and become the second Serie A head coach to be relieved of his duties this season. But he avoided the axe in remarkable fashion as Sassuolo put four past Juventus to make it back-to-back H2H home wins for the first time in the club’s history.
Armand Lauriente opened the scoring in the 12th minute, but it’s worth mentioning Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny lent him a massive helping hand. The Sassuolo forward’s attempt from the edge of the box was supposed to be a comfortable save for the Polish veteran. However, he somehow spilled the ball over the line to gift the hosts an early opener, setting the tone for a dreadful evening.
Juventus didn’t let that setback deter them from maintaining their free-scoring start to the season, as they found an equalizer soon after. Federico Chiesa floated the ball toward the far post, with Matias Vina unwillingly turning it home after failing to endure the pressure from Weston McKennie. Only 21 minutes into the game, it was 1-1.
When it looked like that scoreline could stay in force at halftime, Sassuolo struck again through their talismanic winger Domenico Berardi. The Italian star slotted home a cleverly-taken low free-kick, tricking the Juventus wall and Szczesny to restore the home side’s lead only four minutes before the break. But it wasn’tBi the end of today’s drama.
Referee Andrea Colombo thought about showing Berardi a straight red card at the hour mark, but after consulting with VAR, he gave him the yellow. Shortly after that decision, the left-footed forward almost set up Lauriente for his second on the day, yet the latter failed to hit the target from a promising position.
Juventus tried to reply through Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian striker took the ball in his stride and marched into the box but couldn’t direct his shot on goal. The visitors intensified their pressure heading into the final quarter hour of play, which paid off in the 78th minute. Nicolo Fagioli played a simple pass to Chiesa, whose attempt from inside the area took a slight deflection and left Sassuolo keeper Alessio Cragno helpless.
Everything looked to be going Juventus’ way down the final stretch before Andrea Pinamonti flipped the script. After scoring a brace against Frosinone, the in-form striker headed home a rebound inside the six-yard box to make it 3-2 for Sassuolo in the 82nd minute. There was still time left on the clock for Juventus, though it wasn’t them to change the score again.
To be fair, Juventus defender Federico Gatti was the last name on the board today, but he fumbled the ball into the wrong net. In one of the funniest highlights you’ll see in Serie A this season, he inexplicably sent the ball behind Szczesny’s back from around 30 yards, sealing Juventus’ fate at the Mapei deep inside stoppage time.
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