Berardi goal helps Sassuolo stun 10-man AC Milan and move into Serie A top half

[p]Despite seeing their fanciful title hopes mathematically ended, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]AC Milan[/a] still needed to sew up their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Yet, it was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sassuolo/QDdvI0zl/"]Sassuolo[/a] who came flying out the traps, and they stunned the visitors by taking the lead inside five minutes.[/p][p][b]A brilliant passing move culminated with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lauriente-armand/EZVZoGs8/"]Armand Lauriente[/a] picking out [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/berardi-domenico/jHAnwQQB/"]Domenico Berardi[/a] free in space inside the box, and the club legend found the far corner with a brilliant low finish. [/b][/p][p]Massimiliano Allegri’s side were lethargic at best in the opening stages, and things went from bad to worse for the Rossoneri, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tomori-fikayo/AZn3ZNeI/"]Fikayo Tomori[/a] was sent off in the 24th minute following two yellow cards. Both punishments came after sloppy and clumsy challenges, summing up a disappointing first half for the away side with zero shots on target.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="69194e18-fdd9-44ae-a2e7-7ead6b8507da" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="0b23765a-e014-40d1-bbea-115abcba9566" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]Sassuolo replicated their fast start once play resumed after half-time, and were even quicker in notching their second goal, with the ball nestling in the back of the net within 120 seconds of the restart. [/b][/p][p]The visitors were sloppy at the back, resulting in a turnover that allowed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lipani-luca/t4NSHrlh/"]Luca Lipani[/a] to whip the ball out to Lauriente on the left flank, and – following a superb one-two with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thorstvedt-kristian/EF3UYlr3/"]Kristian Thorstvedt[/a] – he whipped his finish in via the near post[/p][p]Milan – who had now conceded more than once for the first time in 11 away league matches – remained poor. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/turati-stefano/GdRRPoEK/"]Stefano Turati[/a] was yet to make a save with an hour played, and Allegri duly reacted with a host of substitutions. But their dismal performance continued, allowing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/grosso-fabio/bPHSQi9q/"]Fabio Grosso[/a]’s men to coast through to a third win in five league games.[/p][embed guid="e3cab6a6-3854-4b83-ba60-1771205bfc7c" url="https://x.com/SerieA_EN/status/2050953791755944087" social-type="twitter" /][p]A surprisingly easy afternoon moves Sassuolo up into the top half of the table, as they aim to notch their third top-eight finish in seven seasons. Meanwhile, Milan will need to pull themselves together before losing their place in the top four, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/juventus/C06aJvIB/"]Juventus[/a] able to move level on points this evening, and both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/como/ttyLthOA/"]Como[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/as-roma/zVqqL0ma/"]Roma[/a] breathing down the Rossoneri’s necks.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lauriente-armand/EZVZoGs8/"]Armand Lauriente[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sassuolo/QDdvI0zl/"]Sassuolo[/a])[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ac-milan-8Sa8HInO/sassuolo-QDdvI0zl/?mid=URtGhaAm"][b]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore[/b].[/a][/p]