Raimondo's hat trick lifts Frosinone to 4-2 thriller over Sassuolo

Antonio Raimondo scored a hat trick as Frosinone beat Sassuolo 4-2 in a back and forth thriller at the Benito Stirpe, in a Serie A clash that opened with a goal in the eighth minute and never let up until the final whistle.

The home side got off to a fast start: in the 8th minute, Giacomo Calò finished with his right foot from the center of the box to make it 1-0. Sassuolo answered almost immediately: just six minutes later, Domenico Berardi equalized from point blank range after an assist from Darryl Bakola on a quick break. Amid that back and forth there was even a scare for Frosinone: in the 16th minute, VAR disallowed a goal from Giorgi Kvernadze.

But the game began to slip away from Sassuolo around the half hour mark. Antonio Raimondo struck twice in four minutes: in the 25th minute he finished from close range through the middle of the goal to make it 2-1, and in the 29th he surprised everyone with a right footed strike from outside the box that also found the net. Sassuolo pulled one back before halftime through Kristian Thorstvedt, who curled a left footed effort from the center of the box in the 36th minute, and the first half ended 3-2 in favor of the hosts.

In the second half, Raimondo completed his personal haul with his third of the night: in the 56th minute, off a corner kick, he finished with his right foot into the top corner to make it 4-2, the final score. From there the scoreline held, though there were chances on both sides, including a header from Duje Caleta-Car in stoppage time that Frosinone's goalkeeper once again kept out.

What the numbers say

Sassuolo controlled possession and saw much more of the ball, but Frosinone was more clinical and also created more clear cut chances. That difference showed up in the shots on target and, above all, on the scoreboard.

Our expected goals estimate based on the shots taken in the match also backs up what played out on the field: Frosinone generated 2.912 xG compared to Sassuolo's 1.701, a gap that confirms the home side didn't just win, it was also the team that created the most danger despite having less of the ball.

The result also strayed quite a bit from what we projected before kickoff. In our preview we gave Frosinone a 41% chance of winning, 28% for a draw and 31% for Sassuolo, with combined expected goals of just 2.8 (1.5 for the home side and 1.3 for the visitors). The match ended with six total goals and a commanding Frosinone win, well above that forecast.

What it means in the standings

With this result, Frosinone moves to 13 points from 7 matches played, with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, and climbs into fifth place. Sassuolo, meanwhile, remains on 8 points after 7 matches (2 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses) and sits in 11th place, 5 points behind today's opponent. It was a night to forget defensively for Sassuolo, which showed it struggles to hold results together when pressed, and a complete performance from Raimondo, who was the difference between a tight draw and a clear win.