Serie A | Sassuolo 2-1 Empoli: Berardi comeback king

Domenico Berardi came off the bench and scored both goals for 10-man Sassuolo to overturn Empoli in a thriller.

Berardi was still not at 100 per cent, while the visitors missed Koni De Winter, welcoming back goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. The situation was increasingly tense for the Tuscans, who with one win in 12 rounds were sliding back towards the drop zone.

It was Empoli who took a surprise lead at the Mapei Stadium, as Nicolò Cambiaghi intercepted a wayward midfield pass, squirmed between two defenders and drilled into the far bottom corner.

Armand Laurienté had a poor first touch when gathering a cross relatively unmarked at the back post, then his cross found Gregoire Defrel for an acrobatic but ultimately inaccurate volley from six yards.

Vicario was kept busy on his comeback with a tough save on the rocket of a Maxime Lopez volley. Francesco Caputo thumped the upright one-on-one, but his blushes were saved by the offside flag.

Empoli had the ball in the net again only for the offside flag to go up, as this time Caputo had got his head accurately to the Parisi cross.

Sassuolo then went down to 10 men, as Andrea Pinamonti was shown a straight red card for a combination of his tussle with a defender and the angry dissent to that decision.

Nonetheless, the Neroverdi managed to equalise with their talisman Domenico Berardi making his comeback off the bench for a well-placed volley at the back post on Matheus Henrique’s cross.

It still wasn’t over, as deep into stoppages Berardi was brought down in the box and kept his cool to convert the resulting penalty, winning the game for 10 men.

Sassuolo 2-1 Empoli

Cambiaghi 11 (E), Berardi 82, pen 97 (S)

Sent off: Pinamonti 74 (S)