In a game which was affected more by the weather conditions than any player on the pitch, it was Torino who came out victorious with a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Goals from Ciro Immobile and Matteo Brighi were the difference as Sassuolo’s star man Domenico Berardi failed to match his performances of late which has seen him receive widespread praise from all who have watched him.
The game started slowly, both sides spent the first ten or so minutes just passing the ball between their respective midfields and defences, almost as if they were just waiting for the opposition to make a positional error that they could exploit.
Jasmin Kurtic was the first to test the goalkeepers as he struck from 30 yards. His powerful strike was dealt with well by Daniele Padelli.
The first chance, well, half chance of the game fell to Sassuolo just after the ten minute mark but Yussif Ramon Chibsah’s downward header bounced wide and never looked like threatening Padelli in the Torino goal.
The highly rated Berardi’s first contribution of the game came just before 20 minutes had passed, unfortunately for the Neroverdi it was only to pick up a booking for a needless and clumsy foul inside his own half, this proved a sign of things to come for the youngster in what proved to be a frustrating game for him an his side.
The visitors soon carved out their first chance as the ball fell to the feet of Matteo Brighi at the edge of the Sassuolo box, the conditions evidently played their part as he scuffed his shot wide of Gianluca Pegolo’s goal.
Il Toro took the lead on 25 minutes through Immobile. He burst through the Sassuolo defence, battling through the poor conditions as the pitch attempted to hold up the ball but the young striker went through an delicately chipped the ball over Pegolo who went to ground as Immobile advanced.
The hosts had a penalty appeal just after the half hour mark as Berardi went to ground under a challenge from Salvatore Masiello but the referee saw nothing of what was really no more than a coming together.
As the game went on, conditions became even more of a factor. Time and time again simple five-yard passes became near impossible as the ball would completely stall in the water sitting on the surface.
Despite the conditions, the two sides did reappear for the second half and despite the efforts from the ground staff at half time there was still a lot of water on the surface.
Torino doubled their lead less than three minutes after the restart. Making the most of the waterless wide areas of the pitch Alessio Cerci broke down the right before cutting in and shooting, Pegolo managed to save the initial effort but Brighi slid in to tap home the rebound.
Immobile looked to double his tally on the hour mark, his low drive from inside the Sassuolo box was saved well by Pegolo.
The conditions continued to frustrate the Neroverdi as they overcompensated for the surface water by overhitting passes only to see them repeatedly go beyond their target and to an opposition player or out of play.
It’s fair to say that Berardi wasn’t having his best game of the season as he appeared to grow frustrated with himself. He fired a free kick from a promising position straight into the Torino wall.
With 10 minutes to go Sassuolo had another half-hearted penalty appeal as Berardi’s strike from the edge of the box had barely travelled a yard before it struck a hand. No penalty was given.
From here on in the game played out with no real talking points and Torino saw out what was a comfortable away victory in the end.
Follow Conor Clancy on Twitter: @concalcio
