Serie A: Gustavo Varela Scores Twice as Monza Beat Sassuolo 2-1

Monza edged past Sassuolo 2-1 at U-Power Stadium on Matchday 5 of Serie A, with two second-half goals from Gustavo Varela proving enough to hold off a spirited Sassuolo comeback attempt.

The match was scoreless at halftime despite Sassuolo looking the sharper side early, out-shooting the hosts 10-7 and creating three clear chances before the break. Monza stayed compact, cleared what they needed to, and leaned on goalkeeper Noel Törnqvist to keep the score level.

Things changed quickly after the restart. In the 51st minute, captain Samuele Birindelli whipped in a corner from the right and Varela rose above his marker to head it home. Monza doubled their advantage just twelve minutes later when Dany Mota was fouled in the box and Varela stepped up to slot the resulting penalty low into the corner, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Sassuolo pushed hard for a way back and got one goal, though it came too late to matter. In the 88th minute, substitute Vasilije Adžić curled a free kick into the top corner to cut the gap to 2-1. It was a quality strike, but Monza managed the closing minutes well, using fresh legs off the bench to shut down passing lanes and see the game out.

The numbers tell an odd story for a game Sassuolo lost. The visitors held 65 percent of possession and outshot Monza 20-15 overall, with 8 shots on target to Monza's 6. They also had more corners than the hosts and completed almost double the passes, 580 to 313. But none of that translated into goals. Sassuolo missed all five of their big chances, including one where forward Kieron Bowie struck the woodwork after coming off the bench.

Monza, by contrast, made their limited openings count. They had the better expected goals on target figure, 2.15 compared to Sassuolo's 1.55, meaning their shots carried more genuine threat even if they had fewer of them. A costly Sassuolo defensive error also gifted Monza one of their goals, according to match data.

Individually, Varela was the standout performer, finishing with a match rating of 8.2. Aside from his two goals, he completed 17 of 21 passes, set up three chances for teammates, and landed two of his three shots on target. Fans clearly noticed too, voting him Player of the Match with 829 of the 1,129 votes cast, comfortably ahead of anyone else on the pitch.

Törnqvist also had a strong game in goal for Monza, making seven saves and earning a rating of 7.7. On the Sassuolo side, Adžić's late introduction and free kick goal earned him a 7.9 rating, while winger Armand Laurienté was a constant threat down the flank, chipping in with three shots and two key passes across the 90 minutes.

Monza's centre-backs also did their part defensively, combining for 25 clearances and 26 tackles as a team to keep Sassuolo's dangerous final-third play from turning into more goals.

With the win, Monza will take confidence from a result that came against the run of play, while Sassuolo will be left wondering how a performance built on so much possession and so many chances ended in defeat.