Sassuolo vs Lazio 2-6

Lazio won 6-2 at the Mapei Stadium, Città del Tricolore, after an early burst of goals and two more after the break. Sassuolo were reduced to 10 men in the 31st minute, and Lazio kept pulling away.

Kenneth Taylor opened the scoring for Lazio in the 2nd minute, before Kristian Thorstvedt levelled for Sassuolo in the 7th minute from Josh Doig’s assist. Gustav Isaksen restored the lead in the 13th minute from Mattia Zaccagni’s pass, and Romano Floriani Mussolini made it 3-1 in the 16th minute from Taylor’s assist after VAR confirmed the goal. Sassuolo pulled one back through Sebastiano Esposito in the 43rd minute, set up by Simone Cinquegrano, but Zaccagni struck three minutes into first-half stoppage time from Isaksen’s assist to make it 4-2 at the break.

Lazio took control again after the interval. VAR confirmed a penalty for Zaccagni in the 47th minute, but he missed it in the 50th minute. Tijjani Noslin made it 5-2 in the 55th minute from Zaccagni’s assist, and after Lazio made two changes in the 63rd minute, Noslin scored again in the 65th minute from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s pass, his second of the match, to seal a 6-2 lead. Sassuolo also made two changes in the 63rd minute, then another in the 70th minute and one more in the 82nd minute, while Lazio replaced Taylor at half-time and later made changes in the 62nd, 63rd and 71st minutes.

The numbers backed Lazio’s stronger finishing. They had 58% of the ball, 624 passes to Sassuolo’s 441 and 16 shots to 9, with 8 on target compared with 2. Lazio also posted 3.41 xG to Sassuolo’s 0.82, while Sassuolo finished with 2 corners to Lazio’s 1, 3 offsides to 1 and 2 saves to none.

Kenneth Taylor was booked for Lazio in the 28th minute. Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi was booked in the 54th minute, and Kristian Thorstvedt was sent off in the 31st minute.