Author: Barkha Roy
Sassuolo – Juventus – 4:2
Juventus’ unbeaten start to the season came to an end with a 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo in Serie A on Saturday. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s mistakes played an important role in the defeat.
Szczesny made a costly mistake in the 12th minute when Armand Lauriente’s long-range shot deflected off his gloves and into the goal.
In the final moments of the match, Szczesny inadvertently deflected a rebound to Andrea Pinamont, who headed the ball into the net to give Sassuolo a 3-2 lead.
Juve’s problems were compounded in injury time when defender Federico Gatti, apparently unaware that Szczesny was off his line after taking a free-kick near the corner flag, unintentionally sent the ball into his own net.
Sassuolo fielded two Brazilians for the match, with defender Ruan and midfielder Matheus Henrique playing for the hosts. Henrique provided the assist for Sassuolo’s second goal, while Ruan had a subdued performance and was substituted in the 46th minute.
Juventus also fielded two Brazilians. Gleison Bremer performed well defensively, winning most of his duels. On the other hand, although Danilo was unable to prevent Domenico Berardi from scoring Sassuolo’s second goal, the Juventus captain regained possession several times and made crucial defensive contributions.
Milan – Verona – 1:0
Meanwhile, Milan managed to bounce back from their recent setbacks with a 1-0 home win over Hellas Verona in Serie A. The match was delayed by 25 minutes due to hail.
Milan, who had suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Inter the previous weekend and drew goalless in their Champions League group opener against Newcastle United, moved level with leaders Inter on 12 points as they await their city rivals’ game against Empoli on Sunday.
Rafael Leao opened the scoring for Milan eight minutes into the first half, after Olivier Giroud passed Verona near midfield and released the striker. Léo ran past two defenders before calmly shooting against the goalkeeper.
Although Milan had chances to extend their lead, they failed to convert them. Defensively, Verona rarely threatened Milan’s goal, maintaining their position in ninth place, trailing Stefano Pioli’s side by five points.
Rafael Leao, who, along with his coach, had been criticized after the previous two games, celebrated his third consecutive league goal by hugging Pioli.
Although Milan goalkeeper Marco Sportiello made an impressive save from a Michael Folorunsho header in the 20th minute, he had few problems for the rest of the contest.
Milan continued to threaten, with Léo making a strong run down the left wing and entering the area just after the hour mark, but his shot was blocked. In the 72nd minute, AC Milan striker Christian Pulisic managed to get away from his marker, but his curling shot was stopped by Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo. There were no Brazilians playing in the match between Milan and Verona.