Sassuolo won 1-0 over Fiorentina at the Mapei Stadium, thanks to Pinamonti's goal in the 9th minute of the first half, resisting in a final full of emotions in the 19th matchday of Serie A. The neroverdi, close to the safety zone and capable of picking up just one point in the last five championship matches, they overtake the Viola, fresh from three victories in a row and in the Champions League zone, and reach 19 points, while Italiano's team remains stuck on 33 points in fourth place at the end of the first round.
For the very delicate match, Dionisi relies on Berardi-Thorstvedt-Lauriente to support Pinamonti, with Boloca returning to the starting position in midfield. The Italian instead opts for Ikone-Bonaventura-Brekalo behind Nzola with Mandragora preferred to Duncan in midfield and Quarta on the pitch in place of Ranieri in defence.
THE MATCH
Sassuolo immediately started strong and in the 9th minute they were already ahead: Henrique invents for Pedersen who hits low from the left, for Pinamonti who puts it behind Terracciano for the 1-0. The neroverdi continue to press high and in the 19th minute they score again: Thorstvedt opens for Toljan, a right-footed shot deflected towards goal by Berardi, but the goal is disallowed due to the Sassuolo attacker's offside position. The Viola dominated possession but in the first half they were sterile in attack without creating significant opportunities.
At the beginning of the second half Sassuolo was still ahead and another goal was disallowed. In the 48th minute, Ferrari's shot comes from a corner and is blocked by Mandragora, with Thorstvedt then unloading his right-footed shot into the net but the VAR cancels it due to Henrique's active offside on the first shot. Once the danger has been escaped, Italiano picks up the pace and the team begins to attack with their heads down: in the 64th minute the opportunity for an equalizer arrives but Bonaventura misses the penalty, with Consigli repelling. Abisso had awarded the penalty because the ball, after a header by Milenkovic, touched Ferrari's wide arm. Sassuolo suffers and Viola continues their attacking action.
In the 66th minute another goal was disallowed, this time for Fiorentina. From a corner kick comes a left-footed shot from the edge of Duncan which is deflected onto the crossbar, Quarta then scores it from under range but there was also an offside position in this case. Dionisi's team is crushed inside the penalty area and risks again in the 70th minute: on Kayode's cross, Consigli comes out empty, Beltran turns in acrobatics but Ferrari saves on the line.
A minute later another sensational opportunity for the guests with Duncan who cuts in from the left, Milenkovic headers from close range but Consigli is reactive and blocks then Nzola slips the tap-in from a few steps and sends it wide. In the 92nd minute Ikone tries but his left-footed shot from the edge goes past the far post with Consigli watching. Finally in the 97th minute Biraghi throws it into the area, with Quarta's shot, the ball again goes to Ikone who sends it high from two steps, but in an offside position. There's no more time. Sassuolo returns to winning ways against Fiorentina who hadn't lost since November 25th.
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