Monza beat Sassuolo 2-1 at the Stadio Brianteo on Friday evening in the fifth round of the Serie A regular season. The hosts built their lead through two goals from Gustavo Varela, one from open play and a penalty, before Sassuolo found a late reply through Vuk Adzic to make it interesting.
The match settled into a pattern early on, with Sassuolo controlling the tempo. Monza did not look for trouble until the second half, and here's the thing — they waited. Varela struck first in the 51st minute, then added a penalty in the 63rd after the referee pointed to the spot. Sassuolo had already made changes by then, bringing on three players in the 56th minute, but the substitutions did not shift the balance.
Adzic pulled one back in the 88th minute and saw the game out from there. The goal came after Monza had tightened things up, but it was too little, too late. Both sides picked up yellow cards as the match wore on, with Varela joining the list in the 90th minute plus two.
Monza had 35 per cent possession and 13 key passes, while Sassuolo dominated with 65 per cent and 15. The visitors created five big chances to Monza's two, and their expected goals figure of 1.58 sat above the hosts' 1.45. Shots on target were even at six each, but Monza found a way back into it when it mattered.
The result moves Monza to four points from five games, still 14th in the table. Sassuolo sit ninth with seven points, two wins and two defeats so far. We had backed the visitors with some confidence before kick-off, but this match went another way — and it was the hosts' patience that broke the forecast.
