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·28 January 2024

Serie A | Monza 1-0 Sassuolo: Colpani back on track

Andrea Colpani got Monza back on track and pushed Sassuolo back towards potential relegation trouble.

Both sides had hoped to be closer to the top half of the table than the bottom at this stage of the season. Neroverdi captain Domenico Berardi had knee surgery this week, with Jeremy Toljan, Matias Vina and Gregoire Defrel not fully fit either, so Josh Doig made his debut from the start.

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Kristian Thorstvedt failed to make the most of a terrible clearance, scuffing the finish wide from 12 yards, then Dany Mota Carvalho almost pounced on a shaky Andrea Consigli control.

Monza thought they had taken the lead on 23 minutes when Samuele Birindelli ran onto an Andrea Colpani back-heel flick and the cross found Mota for a glancing header at the near post, but it was ruled offside.

Michele Di Gregorio returned in goal after a three-week absence and had to beat away the Armand Lauriente strike, then was beaten by a Thorstvedt left-foot daisy-cutter that thumped the base of the upright.

Monza did break the deadlock eventually, as Mota squirmed away from two defenders to pull back from the by-line and Colpani took a touch to give himself a yard, drilling the snooker shot in from a tricky angle.

After the restart, Valentin Carboni spun away from Ruan Tressoldi for an angled drive that flashed inches wide of the far post.

There were worrying moments when play was halted for several minutes so that a Sassuolo supporter who had slipped and hurt himself received treatment from ambulance staff.

Samuele Mulattieri should’ve at least got the finish on target from the Emil Ceide cross late on, but the chance went begging for the Neroverdi.