SASSUOLO, ITALY – MARCH 01: Ismaël Koné of US Sassuolo celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on March 01, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Just days after their historic Champions League night, Atalanta crumbled against a Sassuolo side that was down to 10 men for well over an hour, with Ismael Koné and Kristian Thorstvedt goals.
La Dea completed an epic comeback from 2-0 down in the first leg to knock Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League. Ederson, Charles De Ketelaere and Giacomo Raspadori were still out, with Honest Ahanor suffering from flu symptoms. Sassuolo welcomed back Nemanja Matic and Tarik Muharemovic from suspension, though Sebastian Walukiewicz was banned instead, with Daniel Boloca, Fali Cande and Edoardo Pieragnolo injured after four wins in the last five.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It was wide open from the start, as Nicola Zalewski couldn’t keep his lob on target after springing the offside trap, then Marco Carnesecchi got down for a one-handed save on Thorstvedt’s glancing header.
The game changed after just 16 minutes when the referee showed a straight red card to Andrea Pinamonti, who didn’t see Berat Djimsiti until it was too late, going into a sliding tackle with studs-up on the defender’s ankle.
Despite being down to 10 men, Sassuolo still took the lead when Ismael Koné was ready to bundle an Armand Laurienté corner over the line from close range.
Arijanet Muric did well to palm away the Raoul Bellanova header from Lorenzo Bernasconi’s cross, but Sassuolo nearly got a second when Muharemovic nodded a Domenico Berardi free kick over from six yards.
Raffaele Palladino made a triple change at half-time, and substitutes Nikola Krstovic and Davide Zappacosta turned over from promising situations.
There was also a wonderful Sassuolo move including Koné back-heel flick for Laurienté, but Berat Djimsiti would not let the striker turn.
Despite being down to 10 men from the 16th minute, the hosts doubled their lead when Thorstvedt swept into the top corner from the edge of the area with the inside of the left boot, an unstoppable finish on another Laurienté assist.
Muric flew to palm away the Krstovic header moments later, but Alieu Fadera’s game lasted only a couple of minutes before he was left badly dazed by an aerial collision with Sead Kolasinac.
The best opportunity for Atalanta was in the final minutes, Muric doing just enough to deflect a Samardzic tap-in onto the upright from Zappacosta’s assist.
The situation was repeated and this time Yunus Musah was ready to sweep in another Zappacosta pull-back from the right to set up a tense finale.
It could’ve been 2-2 in stoppages, but Muric fingertipped the Giorgio Scalvini looping header onto the bar from a Mario Pasalic cross.
A deflected Zappacosta shot ricocheted into the path of Krstovic, closed down by a desperate Jay Idzes block.
Sassuolo 2-1 Atalanta
Koné 23 (S), Thorstvedt 69 (S), Musah 88 (A)
Sent off: Pinamonti 16 (S)
49
21
80
23
25
90
42
18
99
45
10
29
19
42
47
16
23
10
8
15
59
9
7
19
12
16
13
24
40
50
66
8
35
44
20
3
31
57
5
3
45
77
90
7
6
4
Source From: Football Italia
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