Augsburg Edge Sassuolo in Club Friendly Thriller
Augsburg beat Sassuolo 3-2 in a club friendly on Friday evening at the WWK Arena. The result gives the German side a confidence boost after a summer that has seen mixed fortunes. Sassuolo, meanwhile, are running out of games ahead of their Serie A campaign.
Sassuolo struck first through a penalty from A. Pinamonti in the fifth minute. C. Volpato doubled their lead before half-time, finding the net in the thirty-first minute. R. Fellhauer pulled one back for Augsburg in the thirty-sixth, and the home side took the lead when A. Kade scored in the forty-third minute. By then, D. Bakola had picked up a booking for the visitors.
H. Behrens extended Augsburg's advantage early in the second half, adding a fifth goal in the match with the fifty-first-minute strike. The hosts saw it out despite a late wave of yellow cards — K. Jakic and S. Cinquegrano both received bookings in the eighty-sixth minute. Substitutions came at expected intervals, with M. Wolf replacing Bakola at the break and Pinamonti off in the sixty-second.
Statistics tell a flat story here. Both sides registered 0.5 possession, which is to say they shared it evenly. Augsburg won seven corners to Sassuolo's eleven, but attacks were recorded as zero for both teams — data that means little in a friendly.
The win leaves Augsburg with momentum going into their season opener. Sassuolo's recent form has been uneven: a 1-4 defeat to Celta earlier this week followed a goalless draw with Parma. They will need to find consistency before the league begins.