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SASSUOLO, ITALY – MAY 03: Armand Laurienté of US Sassuolo celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and AC Milan at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on May 03, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)
Milan crumbled in a 2-0 defeat to Sassuolo when down to 10 men for over an hour due to Fikayo Tomori’s red card, as Domenico Berardi and Armand Laurienté scored.
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The Rossoneri could catch Napoli in second place with a victory and consolidate the Champions League spot, but Luka Modric’s season was over after surgery for a fractured cheekbone. Ardon Jashari stepped in, with Christopher Nkunku pushing off-form Christian Pulisic to the bench. Domenico Berardi was back after a two-match ban for the Neroverdi, though Darryl Bakola, Fali Cande, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo were injured.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It took under five minutes for Berardi to confirm his extraordinary record against Milan, as this was his 12th career goal past them. Kristian Thorstvedt robbed Jashari in midfield and it was quickly moved left to right, for Berardi to bend a first-time finish into the far bottom corner with the inside of the left foot.
Moments later, Mike Maignan made a one-handed save on the M’Bala Nzola counter-attack, while both teams had penalty appeals waved away as Berardi had his arm behind his back, then Armand Laurienté went down too easily under pressure from Matteo Gabbia, the same with Christopher Nkunku at the other end.
Rafael Leao wasted a golden opportunity when blasting wide with only the goalkeeper to beat after a defensive error sent him clear on goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Milan, as Fikayo Tomori brought down Laurienté on the counter for his second yellow card, leaving his team down to 10 for over an hour.
Strahinja Pavlovic made a decisive block on Thorstvedt and Jay Idzes limped off injured, while Alexis Saelemaekers drilled wide.
Sassuolo doubled their lead within 90 seconds of the restart, as Laurienté completed a give and go with Thorstvedt just inside the area, the finish thumped low and hard into the near bottom corner.
Zachary Athekame fired over, while Nzola and Thorstvedt failed to keep their efforts on target, while both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alieu Fadera were booked for simulation in the box.
This result means that with a victory over Verona today, Juventus could catch Milan in joint third place, while they have failed to score in six of the last 10 games.
Sassuolo 2-0 Milan
Berardi 5 (S), Laurienté 47 (S)
Sent off: Tomori 24 (M)
03-05-2026 14:00
MatchDay 35
Mapei Stadium – Città del TricoloreSassuoloMilan
Live2 – 0
Player statistic
| Domenico Berardi(Assist: Armand Lauriente) | 5' |
| 9' | Fikayo Tomori |
| 24' | Fikayo Tomori |
| Nemanja Matic | 38' |
| Armand Lauriente(Assist: Kristian Thorstvedt) | 47' |
| Ulisses Garcia | 57' |
| 71' | Samuele Ricci |
| 77' | Ruben Loftus-Cheek |
| Cristian Volpato | 89' |
Sassuolo
Milan
Starting lineups
13
Stefano Turati
Goalkeeper
21
Jay Idzes
Defender
40′
6
Sebastian Walukiewicz
Defender
80
Tarik Muharemovic
Defender
23
Ulisses Garcia
Defender
90
Ismaël Koné
Midfielder
42
Kristian Thorstvedt
Midfielder
18
Nemanja Matic
Midfielder
46′
45
Armand Lauriente
Attacker
85′
10
Domenico Berardi
Attacker
59′
8
M’Bala Nzola
Attacker
84′
16
Mike Maignan
Goalkeeper
23
Fikayo Tomori
Defender
46
Matteo Gabbia
Defender
2
Pervis Estupiñán
Defender
31
Strahinja Pavlovic
Defender
12
Adrien Rabiot
Midfielder
56
Alexis Saelemaekers
Midfielder
59′
30
Ardon Jashari
Midfielder
66′
19
Youssouf Fofana
Midfielder
59′
18
Christopher Nkunku
Attacker
46′
10
Rafael Leão
Attacker
59′
Substitutes
19
Filippo Romagna
Defender
12
Giacomo Satalino
Goalkeeper
16
Gioele Zacchi
Goalkeeper
24
Luca Moro
Attacker
44
Edoardo Iannoni
Midfielder
49
Arijanet Muric
Goalkeeper
3
Josh Doig
Defender
40
Aster Vranckx
Midfielder
66
Pedro Felipe
Defender
33
Christian Frangella
Midfielder
25
Woyo Coulibaly
Defender
40′
35
Luca Lipani
Midfielder
46′
7
Cristian Volpato
Midfielder
59′
99
Andrea Pinamonti
Attacker
84′
20
Alieu Fadera
Midfielder
85′
1
Pietro Terracciano
Goalkeeper
5
Koni De Winter
Defender
9
Niclas Füllkrug
Attacker
33
Davide Bartesaghi
Defender
37
Matteo Pittarella
Goalkeeper
24
Zachary Athekame
Defender
46′
8
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Midfielder
59′
11
Christian Pulisic
Attacker
59′
7
Santiago Giménez
Attacker
59′
4
Samuele Ricci
Midfielder
66′
