Sassuolo Are The Serie A Side in Serie B Clothing… And Sampdoria Are Next in Their Sights

Sassuolo returned to the San Siro on Tuesday to face AC Milan in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 in what feels a prelude of sorts.

After a laborious start returned just five points in the opening four fixtures, the Neroverdi are living up to their pre-season tag of promotion favourites and headed into December top of Serie B with 34 points, three ahead of Spezia.

The 4-1 implosion at home against Cremonese back at the end of August is a distant memory and remains Sassuolo’s only loss of the campaign, with Fabio Grosso’s men currently on an 11-game unbeaten streak which has lifted them from seventh to first in Serie B.

Statistics may only tell part of the tale, but Sassuolo’s run makes for ominous reading for their rivals.

Since returning from the international break in October, the league leaders have scored 17 goals and conceded just four in seven matches, winning six of them.

Kristian Thorstvedt and Armand Lauriente have 13 goals between them, while Nicholas Pierini and Samuele Mulattieri have chipped in with five and four respectively. Throw in Domenico Berardi’s seven assists and it comes as no surprise that Sassuolo are the top scorers in the league.

Thorstvedt and Mulattieri were both on target as Sassuolo swatted Reggiana aside in the Emilia derby on Friday night with minimum fuss.

The way the Neroverdi toyed with their local rivals was a warning to the rest of Serie B that Grosso’s team are effectively a Serie A side plying their trade in the second division.

La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday described Sassuolo as a “team in a league of their own”, a feeling echoed by Palermo manager Alessandro Dionisi.

“Sassuolo are the only Serie B team with players who were making a difference in Serie A last season,” Dionisi said after the Rosanero beat third-placed Spezia on Sunday.

Worryingly for their rivals, not only do Sassuolo have the best team in Serie B, they also have a manager who relishes the pressure that comes with being the pace-setters.

When Grosso led Frosinone to Serie A two seasons ago, his side went top of the table after 10 matches and never looked back, finishing seven points clear of Genoa.

It would be far from surprising to see Sassuolo replicate the feat this term.

If the Neroverdi look poised to return to the upper echelon of calcio at the first time of asking, there is nothing to suggest Sampdoria, their opponents on Sunday, will follow them at the end of the season.

Winless in the past five matches, the Blucerchiati are 12th in the table with 17 points, just four points clear of the relegation zone and yet only two points adrift of the last play-off spot.

After replacing Andrea Pirlo in August, Andrea Sottil has used what little credit he had in the bank and he appears to be on borrowed time.

According to Genoa’s newspaper Il Secolo XIX, Sottil’s future remains safe for now, largely due to a lack of convincing alternatives for the club.

Sampdoria ultras made their feelings clear after Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Catanzaro, booing the players off the pitch and then blocking the team bus inside Marassi for almost three hours.

With fixtures against Sassuolo and third-placed Spezia over the next two weeks, it could be a Christmas to forget for Sottil and his players.