Sassuolo and Cagliari battled to a hard fought 1-1 draw at the Mapei Stadium in Serie A action on Saturday.
Goals from Simone Zaza and a second half penalty from Agim Ibraimi were enough toe secure a point for both sides as they look to avoid relegation to Serie B.
The away side had the first chance in the 7th minute when Victor Ibarbo controlled a ball in the Sassuolo penalty area before laying it off for captain Daniele Conti but the Italian’s effort went wide of goal.
The Neroverdi responded in the 24th minute when Domenico Berardi looked to place his left footed effort past Vlada Avramov but the poorly hit shot was easily dealt with by the goalkeeper.
Sassuolo took the lead in the 36th minute when Zaza found space between the Cagliari defence before sending a left-footed drive that found its way under the bar to give the home side the 1-0 advantage.
The second half kicked off in exciting fashion as Cagliari were awarded a penalty inside the first minute after the restart when Ibarbo was taken down by Luca Antei in the penalty area.
Ibraimi stepped up and sent his strike past a diving Gianluca Pegolo to level the score at 1-1.
Ibarbo was once again the dangerman in the 59th minute when he made a run before finding Ibraimi in the penalty area but the Macedonian could not find the space needed to send an effort on goal.
The home side came close to retaking the lead in the 66th minute when Simone Missiroli laid off a ball for second half substitute Antonio Floro Flores but the striker’s effort whistled just past the post to keep the score at 1-1.
Cagliari had a penalty claim turned down in the 75th minute when Nicola Murru’s cross appeared to hit Marcello Gazzola’s arm but the referee deemed it not worthy of a spoty kick as the Sassuolo defender had his arm close to his body.
The Neroverdi had a great chance to make it 2-1 in the 85th minute when Missiroli’s pass split the offside trap and found Nicola Sansone but the young Italian sent his effort just wide of goal despite being alone in front of a stranded Avramov.
The Isolani nearly snatched all three points deep into injury time when Ibarbo sent a menacing strike on goal that went inches wide of Pegolo’s goal, sending both sides home with a point apiece after level affair.
Follow Adriano Boin on Twitter: @Boin44
