Frosinone turned the Benito Stirpe into the setting for a wild and valuable Serie A evening, beating Sassuolo 4-2 with Antonio Raimondo scoring his first top-flight hat-trick. The result was the third consecutive home victory for Massimiliano Alvini’s side and their fourth win from seven league matches, while Raimondo moved to seven goals and became Serie A’s leading scorer.
The coach and the club
Alvini had asked his team to react after the defeat away to Napoli, and Frosinone did so with an aggressive performance that repeatedly exposed Sassuolo’s uncertainty at the back. The coach was forced into one defensive alteration before kick-off, with Ilario Monterisi replacing the unfit Lorenzo Calvani, who began among the substitutes.
Sassuolo arrived after drawing 1-1 with Milan and made a change of their own in defence, where Odenthal came in for the injured Leysen. Kristian Thorstvedt returned to the starting midfield, while Adzic was initially held back by Alberto Aquilani.
The match was played at a relentless pace from the opening minutes. Sassuolo threatened through Caleta-Car, Sebastiano Esposito and Armand Laurienté, but Frosinone’s high pressure soon produced the breakthrough.
- In the ninth minute, Masini won possession from Bakola near the Sassuolo area and supplied Calò, who finished past Muric for his second league goal of the season. Sassuolo appealed over the recovery of the ball, but the goal stood after a VAR check.
- Four minutes later, Berardi levelled the match. Bakola redeemed his earlier mistake with a long pass into the space behind the Frosinone defence, and Berardi found a route beyond Palmisani.
- Frosinone thought they had restored their lead shortly afterwards when Kvernadze volleyed home from Oyono’s delivery, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
- Raimondo then took control. In the 26th minute he pounced after confusion between Odenthal and Muric, converting from Calò’s cross. Four minutes later, another mistimed intervention from Muric allowed the forward to score again into an empty net.
- Sassuolo remained in the contest before half-time as Esposito combined with Thorstvedt, who finished low to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
- Raimondo completed the hat-trick early in the second half, reacting quickest after Muric had saved Ghedjemis’ header from a Kvernadze cross.
Five goals had already arrived before the interval, and neither side had been able to impose much defensive order. Berardi also forced Palmisani into an important save after another direct Sassuolo break, while Bakola tested the Frosinone goalkeeper from distance.
At 4-2, Aquilani reshaped his side by replacing Thorstvedt with Bowie, who became the main reference point in a revised 4-2-3-1. Later, Lipani, Obrador and Dominguez entered for Matic, Doig and Esposito, while Volpato returned from injury in place of Laurienté.
Frosinone answered with Fayed and Zerbin for Monterisi and Kvernadze, followed by Cichella and Amey for Calò and Oyono. Raimondo eventually left to a standing ovation from the Stirpe crowd, with Birligea taking his place.
A night shaped by pressure and punishment
Sassuolo continued to search for a way back during four minutes of added time. Volpato’s corner found Odenthal, whose header missed the target, while Palmisani was also called upon to repel a powerful effort from distance. Bowie was booked after arriving late on Amey.
But the away side could not find a further opening. Frosinone defended their advantage through the final phase and claimed three points that carried significance beyond the immediate scoreline: a response to the Napoli setback, another strong home result, and a new league-leading scorer at the centre of Alvini’s season.
For Sassuolo, Berardi and Thorstvedt had given Aquilani reasons to believe in a recovery. Yet the evening was decided by the errors around Muric’s goal and by Raimondo’s instinct in the decisive moments. At the Benito Stirpe, Frosinone’s forward wrote the defining chapter of a 4-2 victory.
