Last Updated on April 17, 2026 8:46 pm by ZUWP Automation
Sassuolo 2-1 Como: Volpato and Nzola strike in first-half stoppage time before Nico Paz pulls one back, but Fabio Grosso’s side hold on at MAPEI Stadium
Cesc Fàbregas brought a Como side in decent form to Reggio Emilia on Matchweek 33 of Serie A, and for the vast majority of this fixture his players did almost everything right. They controlled possession, they created chances, they pressed with intent. What they could not do was protect themselves against a three-minute storm that changed everything. Two Sassuolo goals in the 42nd and 44th minutes, followed immediately by a Como reply in first-half stoppage time, meant the entire match was effectively decided before the teams had even reached the break.
The Storm Before Half-Time
For the first 40-odd minutes, the numbers told a clear story of Como’s superiority. Fàbregas’s side, deployed in a 4-2-3-1, finished with 70 per cent of possession and completed 479 of 523 passes at a success rate of 92 per cent. Sassuolo, by contrast, managed just 30 per cent of the ball and completed only 74 per cent of their passes. On paper, this was a mismatch in midfield control.
But football is not played on paper. Fabio Grosso’s side, lining up in a 4-3-3, had their own plan: sit deep, absorb, and strike on the counter. In the 42nd minute, that plan paid off in the most direct fashion. Cristian Volpato latched onto a pass from M’Bala Nzola and finished with his left foot to make it 1-0. It was a goal against the run of play, and it should have been the kind of shock that galvanised Como into an immediate response.
Instead, Sassuolo struck again. Two minutes later, in the 44th minute, the roles were reversed: Armand Laurienté turned provider and Nzola converted with his left foot to double the lead. Two goals in two minutes, both from left-foot finishes, both against a side that had been the dominant force throughout. The MAPEI Stadium had barely processed the first when the second went in.
Como did respond, and quickly. In the 45th minute, Nico Paz headed home from an Ivan Smolcic assist to make it 2-1. The goal gave Fàbregas’s side a lifeline heading into the dressing room, but the damage was done. Sassuolo went in at the break leading 2-1 having been thoroughly outplayed in terms of possession and territory, yet somehow ahead on the only metric that matters.
The Second Half: Pressure Without Reward
Como came out after the interval with purpose, making three substitutions at the break, a clear signal that Fàbregas recognised the tactical adjustments needed. The visitors continued to press and probe, generating 82 dangerous attacks across the full 90 minutes to Sassuolo’s 22. Yet the Sassuolo goalkeeper made his two saves count, and the home side’s back four held firm when it mattered.
A yellow card for Sassuolo’s Cristian Volpato in the 64th minute for time-wasting told its own story: Grosso’s side knew they had what they needed and were not shy about protecting it. Volpato was substituted at the same moment, replaced as Sassuolo looked to shore things up. Como’s number 38 had already been withdrawn in the 60th minute, and their captain came off in the 72nd as Fàbregas shuffled his options in search of an equaliser that never came.
The visitors’ best individual performer, their number 10 who finished with a match rating of 8.2, had five shots and three on target. He generated an xG of 0.46 across those attempts, yet his xG on target figure was a remarkable 1.29, reflecting how well the Sassuolo goalkeeper positioned himself to deny what should have been more threatening efforts. It was the story of Como’s afternoon in miniature: the numbers suggested they should have scored more, but Sassuolo’s goalkeeper and defenders refused to cooperate.
The Statistical Paradox
The full-time numbers make for uncomfortable reading if you support Sassuolo and are trying to argue they were the better side. They were not. Como had 12 shots to Sassuolo’s 12, but the visitors put five of those inside the box compared to Sassuolo’s seven. Como had eight corners to Sassuolo’s five. The visitors created zero big chances according to the team totals, yet Sassuolo created two, and converted one of them through Nzola.
Sassuolo’s number 8, who scored one goal and provided one assist, ended the match with a rating of 8.2, matching Como’s standout performer despite the statistical gulf in overall team dominance. He won two of four aerial duels and created two chances in 76 minutes before being withdrawn. His combination with Nzola in that frantic two-minute spell was the difference between the sides.
For Como, the player wearing the captain’s armband completed 49 of 51 passes at 96 per cent accuracy in 72 minutes and won all two of his tackles. His influence on the ball was considerable. But clean passing statistics do not override two first-half goals conceded in the space of 120 seconds.
Context and Consequence
Sassuolo came into this fixture in wretched form: four consecutive defeats before today, with each of those losses by a single goal. The wins had dried up entirely, and a home fixture against a Como side that had beaten Inter just five days earlier looked, on paper, like another difficult afternoon. Instead, Grosso’s side found a way to win that was ugly, opportunistic, and entirely effective.
Como’s recent form had been more encouraging: two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five, including that notable home victory over Inter. But a winless run of four matches for Sassuolo entering this fixture made the home side’s ruthlessness all the more striking. They had scored just one goal in those four defeats; they scored two in two minutes here.
The only previous meeting between these sides, back in November 2025, ended 1-0 to Como at their own ground. Sassuolo have now levelled that head-to-head record at one win apiece.
Sassuolo’s three points from this result represent their first win in five matches, a lifeline delivered by two goals in the dying moments of a first half they spent largely chasing shadows. For Como, the defeat is a frustrating one: Fàbregas’s side controlled this match for long stretches, only to be undone by a brief loss of concentration at the worst possible time. In Serie A, moments like those in the 42nd and 44th minutes do not forgive, and they do not forget.
