Sassuolo claim a vital away win at the Unipol Domus thanks to second-half goals from Laurienté and Pinamonti. Sebastiano Esposito pulls one back for Cagliari, but Grosso’s men hold firm to move closer to the European spots.
Fabio Grosso’s Sassuolo continued their steady rise up the Serie A table with a 2-1 win over Cagliari on a rain-soaked night in Sardinia. Despite difficult playing conditions, the Neroverdi adapted better and produced a composed second half to secure three important points.
The first half was tight and scrappy, with both teams struggling to control the ball on the wet surface. Sebastiano Esposito thought he had given Cagliari the lead midway through the half, but his goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Sassuolo grew into the game and began to threaten Caprile’s goal with increasing regularity before halftime.
After the break, Sassuolo’s attacking quality made the difference. In the 54th minute, Armand Laurienté curled home a precise free kick won by Andrea Pinamonti to open the scoring. Eleven minutes later, Pinamonti turned scorer — finishing a clever assist from Cristian Volpato to double the lead and give the visitors full control.
Cagliari briefly came back to life in the 73rd minute, when substitute Felici set up Esposito, who scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1. Pisacane’s team pushed hard in the final stages, but Sassuolo stayed compact and relied on experience and defensive organization to see out the win.
With this result, Sassuolo move to the edge of the European race, while Cagliari’s poor run continues — just as the pressure begins to mount in Sardinia.
Match Report
Scorers:
54’ Laurienté (Sassuolo), 65’ Pinamonti (Sassuolo), 73’ Sebastiano Esposito (Cagliari)
Cagliari (3-5-2):
Caprile; Zappa (62′ Felici), Zé Pedro, Idrissi; Palestra, Adopo (83′ Mazzitelli), Prati, Folorunsho (62′ G. Gaetano), Obert; Borrelli (77′ Pavoletti), Esposito (83′ Luvumbo).
Coach: Pisacane.
Sassuolo (4-3-3):
Muric; Woyo Coulibaly, Walukiewicz, Idzes, Candé; Thorstvedt (74′ Vranckx), Matic, Ismaël Koné (85′ Cheddira); Volpato (85′ Iannoni), Pinamonti (74′ Fadera), Laurienté (74′ Luca Moro).
Coach: F. Grosso.
Referee: Pairetto
Yellow cards: Folorunsho (Cagliari), Thorstvedt, Fadera, Walukiewicz, Iannoni (Sassuolo), Obert, Idrissi, Caprile (Cagliari)
Red cards: None
