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SASSUOLO, ITALY – MARCH 01: Ismaël Koné of US Sassuolo celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on March 01, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Just days after their historic Champions League night, Atalanta crumbled against a Sassuolo side that was down to 10 men for well over an hour, with Ismael Koné and Kristian Thorstvedt goals.
La Dea completed an epic comeback from 2-0 down in the first leg to knock Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League. Ederson, Charles De Ketelaere and Giacomo Raspadori were still out, with Honest Ahanor suffering from flu symptoms. Sassuolo welcomed back Nemanja Matic and Tarik Muharemovic from suspension, though Sebastian Walukiewicz was banned instead, with Daniel Boloca, Fali Cande and Edoardo Pieragnolo injured after four wins in the last five.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It was wide open from the start, as Nicola Zalewski couldn’t keep his lob on target after springing the offside trap, then Marco Carnesecchi got down for a one-handed save on Thorstvedt’s glancing header.
The game changed after just 16 minutes when the referee showed a straight red card to Andrea Pinamonti, who didn’t see Berat Djimsiti until it was too late, going into a sliding tackle with studs-up on the defender’s ankle.
Despite being down to 10 men, Sassuolo still took the lead when Ismael Koné was ready to bundle an Armand Laurienté corner over the line from close range.
Arijanet Muric did well to palm away the Raoul Bellanova header from Lorenzo Bernasconi’s cross, but Sassuolo nearly got a second when Muharemovic nodded a Domenico Berardi free kick over from six yards.
Raffaele Palladino made a triple change at half-time, and substitutes Nikola Krstovic and Davide Zappacosta turned over from promising situations.
There was also a wonderful Sassuolo move including Koné back-heel flick for Laurienté, but Berat Djimsiti would not let the striker turn.
Despite being down to 10 men from the 16th minute, the hosts doubled their lead when Thorstvedt swept into the top corner from the edge of the area with the inside of the left boot, an unstoppable finish on another Laurienté assist.
Muric flew to palm away the Krstovic header moments later, but Alieu Fadera’s game lasted only a couple of minutes before he was left badly dazed by an aerial collision with Sead Kolasinac.
The best opportunity for Atalanta was in the final minutes, Muric doing just enough to deflect a Samardzic tap-in onto the upright from Zappacosta’s assist.
The situation was repeated and this time Yunus Musah was ready to sweep in another Zappacosta pull-back from the right to set up a tense finale.
It could’ve been 2-2 in stoppages, but Muric fingertipped the Giorgio Scalvini looping header onto the bar from a Mario Pasalic cross.
A deflected Zappacosta shot ricocheted into the path of Krstovic, closed down by a desperate Jay Idzes block.
Sassuolo 2-1 Atalanta
Koné 23 (S), Thorstvedt 69 (S), Musah 88 (A)
Sent off: Pinamonti 16 (S)
01-03-2026 14:00
MatchDay 27
Mapei Stadium – Città del TricoloreSassuoloAtalanta
Live2 – 1
Player statistic
| Jay Idzes | 12' |
| Andrea Pinamonti | 16' |
| 21' | Lorenzo Bernasconi |
| Ismaël Koné(Assist: Armand Lauriente) | 23' |
| Nemanja Matic | 57' |
| 58' | Nicola Zalewski |
| Kristian Thorstvedt(Assist: Armand Lauriente) | 69' |
| 88' | Yunus Musah(Assist: Davide Zappacosta) |
Sassuolo
Atalanta
Starting lineups
49
Arijanet Muric
Goalkeeper
21
Jay Idzes
Defender
80
Tarik Muharemovic
Defender
23
Ulisses Garcia
Defender
25
Woyo Coulibaly
Defender
90
Ismaël Koné
Midfielder
89′
42
Kristian Thorstvedt
Midfielder
18
Nemanja Matic
Midfielder
74′
99
Andrea Pinamonti
Attacker
45
Armand Lauriente
Attacker
73′
10
Domenico Berardi
Attacker
73′
29
Marco Carnesecchi
Goalkeeper
19
Berat Djimsiti
Defender
76′
42
Giorgio Scalvini
Defender
47
Lorenzo Bernasconi
Defender
46′
16
Raoul Bellanova
Defender
46′
23
Sead Kolasinac
Defender
10
Lazar Samardžić
Midfielder
8
Mario Pasalic
Midfielder
15
Marten de Roon
Midfielder
59
Nicola Zalewski
Midfielder
67′
9
Gianluca Scamacca
Attacker
46′
Substitutes
7
Cristian Volpato
Midfielder
19
Filippo Romagna
Defender
12
Giacomo Satalino
Goalkeeper
16
Gioele Zacchi
Goalkeeper
13
Stefano Turati
Goalkeeper
24
Luca Moro
Attacker
40
Aster Vranckx
Midfielder
50
Darryl Bakola
Midfielder
66
Pedro Felipe
Defender
8
M’Bala Nzola
Attacker
73′
35
Luca Lipani
Midfielder
74′
44
Edoardo Iannoni
Midfielder
79′
20
Alieu Fadera
Midfielder
3
Josh Doig
Defender
89′
31
Francesco Rossi
Goalkeeper
57
Marco Sportiello
Goalkeeper
5
Mitchel Bakker
Defender
3
Odilon Kossounou
Defender
45
Dominic Vavassori
Midfielder
77
Davide Zappacosta
Defender
46′
90
Nikola Krstovic
Attacker
46′
7
Kamaldeen Sulemana
Midfielder
46′
6
Yunus Musah
Midfielder
67′
4
Isak Hien
Defender
76′
