08 March 2015
Having experienced two near promotion misses in both 2010 and 2012, Sassuolo made it third time lucky when they won Serie B at the culmination of the 2012/13 campaign to bag their first ever step up to Italy’s top flight.
During their maiden season in Serie A, Eusebio Di Franceso’s men escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, pulling off a great* *escape to finish two points above the dreaded drop zone in 17th position.
One thing that certainly had to change if the Neroverdi wanted to secure a second consecutive term among the big boys was their away form. A poor display on the road last year saw them only take 17 points from* *a possible 57 outside of Emilia-Romagna.
Determined to improve on their showing, Sassuolo kicked off their away campaign this time around with a September trip to the San Siro to face Inter. But all didn’t go according to plan after the Nerazzurri romped to a 7-0 triumph in front of their home supporters.
That result, however, was soon out of their system as they then held their own against a solid Fiorentina outfit, returning home from the Artemio Franchi with a creditable goalless stalemate.
The beginning of October witnessed Domenico Berardi grab a brace at the Stadio Olimpico but Sassuolo were ultimately edged out 3-2 by Lazio during a topsy-turvy encounter in Italy’s capital.
Nevertheless, they didn’t have to wait long for their first victory on the road, as goals from Sergio Floccari, Francesco Acerbi and Sergio Taider ensured a great 3-1 triumph over Parma at the end of the month.
Sassuolo then registered their second 0-0 away draw of the campaign, this time against Chievo, at the start of November before ruling victorious in Turin, with Antonio Floro Flores scoring the winner versus Torino three minutes from time to send the travelling faithful wild.
Simone Zaza’s double wasn’t enough for a famous success during their second trip to Rome in three months after Rudi Garcia's Giallorossi battled back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw in December. And Di Francesco’s men were soon on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline in Sicily, Andrea Belotti bagging the winner in injury-time for Palermo midway through the month.
But that disappointment didn’t deter Sassuolo from recording a famous 2-1 victory over Milan in their maiden away meeting of 2015. Regardless of Andrea Poli’s opener for the Rossoneri, goals from Nicola Sansone and Zaza turned the game on its head.
A six-goal thriller with Genoa followed 12 days later as another Berardi brace sandwiched Simone Missiroli’s strike for a 3-3 draw at the Luigi Marassi before the Neroverdi brought January to an end on a sour note, succumbing 2-1 to struggling Cagliari in Sardinia.
Defender Acerbi scored his third away goal of the campaign as Sassuolo held high-flying Sampdoria 1-1 in Genoa, only for the Reggio Emilia-based outfit to be defeated for the fifth time on the road in their last away trip: Napoli triumphing 2-0 at the San Paolo in February.
Despite conceding in each of their last seven games on the road, Sassuolo are yet to lose two consecutive away matches this season.
However, they are coming up against a Bianconeri side who have won their last four Serie A matches on the bounce at Juventus Stadium and it will take a stirring defensive performance if the Neroverdi want to return home with a positive result by 22.45 CET on Monday evening.
