Alessio Dionisi rues the defensive error that turned the game in their 4-2 defeat to Hellas Verona. ‘Without that, we might’ve equalised.’
The Neroverdi were badly missing suspended Domenico Berardi, but still managed to score twice through Gianluca Scamacca’s acrobatic volley and a Gregoire Defrel free header.
They were undone at the Mapei Stadium by Gianluca Caprari and the Antonin Barak hat-trick.
“We did much better in the second half, but Verona were stronger in the first,” Dionisi told DAZN.
Serie A | Sassuolo 2-4 Verona: Barak hat-trick hero for Hellas
“We knew that Verona would start strong and we had wanted to make them run harder, but it’s a pity, as we could’ve got a result.
“Hellas deserve a lot of credit for their performance and it was also our own fault for not stepping up the intensity earlier. If we try to lift the ball and go into a full-frontal physical duel with Verona, we’ll always lose.
“Missing Berardi did rob us of some quality, but above all we should’ve been more courageous.
“Maxime Lopez let his head drop in the first half and that shouldn’t happen, he needs to keep his head in the game.”
Just as Sassuolo got it back to 2-1, moments later Vlad Chiriches pushed the ball off the chest of Giovanni Simeone for a penalty.
“He was so eager to get there that it was involuntary, but the timing didn’t help, because I think without that penalty we might’ve equalised.”
“Primo tempo a loro, nel secondo meglio noi”. Le parole di #Dionisi dopo la sconfitta con il #Verona https://t.co/tCxJ8ae3DW
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 16, 2022