SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Alieu Fadera of US Sassuolo Calcio celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and US Cremonese at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 25, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
An early Alieu Fadera goal gave Sassuolo their first win since December 6, while Domenico Berardi made his return to action against Cremonese.
Sassuolo beat Cremonese on Sunday, winning their first match in 2026 on Sunday.
Armand Laurienté tried his luck from distance after just three minutes, Emil Audero clumsily parried it back into the middle, and Fadera was the quickest to react, tapping it in from close range ahead of Matteo Bianchetti.
Cremonese tried to bounce back at minute 14 when Vandeputte won the ball back and passed it to Vardy with a through ball. The English striker shot towards the goal, but the goalkeeper blocked it with his foot.
Laurienté had another chance from distance for Sassuolo, but sent his shot over the crossbar.
Dennis Johnsen replaced Tommaso Barbieri during the break, giving Cremonese a more attacking shape, yet the Grigiorossi still struggled to cause trouble for Arijanet Muric.
Laurientè’s cross from the left found Luca Moro off balance in the middle of the box; the Sassuolo striker managed to get a shot, but sent it wide of the near post.
Domenico Berardi was introduced at minute 59, making his first appearance since the end of November.
Johnsen found Bonazzoli inside the box with a through ball, but the Cremonese striker took too long to control the ball, giving Sassuolo’s defence time to recover and ended up shooting into the outside of the net.
Audero produced a big save on a Laurienté free kick, flying to his right to tip the Frenchman’s shot away from the top corner.
Sassuolo had one more chance with Josh Doig, but his shot from the edge of the box ended over the crossbar, while Nicholas Pierini hit the woodwork with a lob from distance.
Sassuolo move to 26 points in the standings, while Cremonese still have 23 and haven’t won any of the last eight Serie A games, scoring just in this period.
49
21
3
6
80
20
59′ 90
84′ 35
59′ 18
45
71′ 24
71′ 1
6
3
15
81′ 4
46′ 33
67′ 24
81′ 27
18
23′ 90
10
7
19
12
16
17
25
13
26
40
14
10
59′ 42
59′ 99
71′ 77
71′ 44
84′
