Sassuolo kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive as they defeated Chievo 1-0 at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Saturday afternoon.
A first half strike from youngster Domenico Berardi was enough to give the Nerovedi an important three points as they look to climb their way out of the bottom three.
The away side had the first chance after 26 minutes when Paolo Cannavaro found himself all alone in the Chievo penalty area but his deflected effort was pushed over the bar by an attentive Michael Agazzi.
The Neroverdi had a chance off the resulting corner as Antonio Floro Flores was free at the far post but he could not direct his effort on goal.
Sassuolo continued their siege on the Chievo goal in the 37th minute when Simone Missoroli forced a great kick save out of Agazzi to keep the score at 0-0.
Chievo finally responded one minute later when Alberto Paloschi found himself one-on-one with Gianluca Pegolo but the Sassuolo goalkeeper did well to deny the striker not once, but on two occasions before Luca Antei swept the ball out of harm’s way.
The save would prove crucial as Sassuolo took the lead in the 40th minute when Berardi freed himself from his markers before sending his right footed effort past Agazzi from just inside the penalty area to make the score 1-0 for the away side.
The Neroverdi continued to push forward in the second half and nearly doubled their lead through Reto Ziegler in the 67th minute but the Swiss defender sent his strike over the bar despite being in a favourable position.
Thereau had a great chance to level the score for the Flying Donkeys in the 82nd minute but Pegolo somehow managed to get his fingertips on to the headed effort to keep the score at 1-0.
Sassuolo maintained their composure in the remaining minutes to give Eusebio Di Francesco and his men an important victory as they now sit tied with Bologna on 28 points for 17th place.
Follow Adriano Boin on Twitter: @Boin44
