If Sassuolo played against teams of its own level as it did against the giants of Italian football, they wouldn’t be fighting so desperately for survival in the top league… This season, the Neroverdi are the only team in Serie A to have defeated Juventus and Inter, yet today Milan slipped away from the guillotine. Twice they had a two-goal advantage against the Rossoneri, who managed to salvage a draw with substitutions from the bench – 3:3.5 – Noah Okafor (who scored with his first touch of the match) has scored a total of five goals as substitute in this #SerieA season, more than any other player. Ace.#SassuoloMilan— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 14, 2024 After a series of victories (seven) in all competitions, Milan began to falter. The painful defeat against Roma in the Europa League was followed by today’s draw in Emilia Romagna. Sassuolo has seriously endangered its top-flight status in recent weeks and had to fight hard against Milan, opting for an all-or-nothing approach. Although Pioli rested some starters like Giroud, Pulisic, or Tijjani Reijnders and started with Jovic up front, he had to bring them onto the field very quickly. Sassuolo took the lead just four minutes into the game after a masterful assist from Torregrossa to Inter’s product Andrea Pinamonti, who was left unmarked in the box and executed an unstoppable volley. After just 10 minutes of play, it was already 2-0. Arman Loriente resembled Rafa Leao. Like a fast train, he thundered down the left flank, passed Florenzi as if he wasn’t there, and stabbed the ball past Sportiello. An ideal start to the match for the Neroverdi…
Milan could have quickly gotten back into the game, but Andrea Consigli made a terrific save after a corner to deny Malick Thiaw’s shot. On the other end, Chukwueze had a goal disallowed for a millimeter offside. Loriente, with that breakthrough, gave Leao a tough task and challenged him to show his skills. The Portuguese is incredible when he’s in the mood and having a good day… He wreaked havoc down the left side, mesmerized two opposing defenders, and placed the ball into the far corner. Three early goals completely opened up the game, as both sides attacked in waves.Goal •• Noah Okafor finds the EQUALIZER !!Sassuolo 3-3 AC Milan pic.twitter.com/vitj6RYGxg— IBT4F (@ibt4f) April 14, 2024 Instead of Pioli making changes at halftime, it was Sassuolo who introduced another attacker with Defrel’s entrance. And it paid off after a few minutes. Defrel spotted Loriente alone in the 53rd minute and connected him with the goal for 3-1. Only then did Pioli react and bring on Giroud, Gabi, and Rejinders. And Milan improved. Once again, Rafa Leao revived the Rossoneri. Once more, he darted down the left wing and with a masterful cross, forced Consigli to deflect the ball onto Luka Jovic’s foot, who found the net, and suddenly everything was open again. While Leao on the left wing was scoring and setting up goals, Samuel Chukwueze on the right was cursing the VAR. His second goal of the match was also disallowed, and shortly after, he was substituted. Consigli continued to rescue the Neroverdi until the 84th minute. Giroud rose highest in the air, and Noah Okafor, just two minutes after coming on the field, took advantage of confusion in the home defense and practically walked the ball into the net for the final score of 3-3.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 32Friday Lazio – Salernitana 4-1 (3-1)/Anderson 7, 35, Vecino 14, Isaksen 87 – Tchaouna 16/Saturday Lecce – Empoli 1-0 (0-0)/Sansone 89/Torino – Juventus 0-0Bologna – Monza 0-0SundayNapoli – Frosinone 2-2 (1-0)/Politano 16, Osimhen 63 – Cheddira 50, 73/Sassuolo – Milan 3-3 (2-1)/Pinamonti 4, Lauriente 10, 53 – Leao 20, Jovic 53, Okafor 84/19:00: (3.45) Udinese (3.35) Roma (2.15)21:45: (1.20) Inter (6.75) Cagliari (14.0)Monday 19:30: (1.90) Fiorentina (3.45) Genoa (4.20)21:45: (1.47) Atalanta (4.30) Verona (7.00)***odds are subject to change***