Sassuolo Outlasts Frosinone on Penalties After 1-1 Draw in Coppa Italia

A 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, a VAR-disallowed goal late in the second half, and a penalty shootout that stretched all the way to 4-3. That's the short version of what went down between Sassuolo and Frosinone at the MAPEI Stadium in the Coppa Italia. One thing worth noting: there was a shootout, but this wasn't a knockout tie decided on a single result, so nobody was eliminated and nobody advanced to the next round. There was simply a shootout winner, and that was Sassuolo.

The match turned on a handful of key moments. In the 35th minute, Benja Domínguez struck a right-footed shot from the center of the box after a quick Sassuolo counterattack, making it 1-0. The lead didn't last long: right at the start of the second half, in the 46th minute, Aleksa Terzic leveled things for Frosinone with a left-footed finish from inside the area, set up by Luis Hasa. That 1-1 scoreline held for the rest of the match, though not for lack of trying on either side.

The biggest moment of the night came in the second half, when Frosinone thought they had taken the lead. In the 72nd minute, Matteo Cichella put the ball in the net, but a VAR review overturned the goal two minutes later, confirming it wouldn't count. That decision kept the score level for the rest of the game, with both sides creating chances but neither finding a second goal before the final whistle.

What the Numbers Say

Frosinone was the team that caused more problems statistically, something that doesn't always show up on the scoreboard. They had more possession, more shots and more clear-cut chances than Sassuolo across the 90 minutes.

Our own xG estimate, calculated from the shots taken during the match, tells the same story: 1.788 for Sassuolo compared to 2.404 for Frosinone. In other words, the visitors created more real danger over the course of the game, even though they couldn't turn it into a lead on the scoreboard.

Before kickoff, our model's preview gave Sassuolo a 45% chance of winning, with 28% for a draw and 27% for Frosinone, with expected goals of 1.59 for the home side and 1.20 for the visitors. The final result, a draw with a Frosinone side that was sharper than expected, lines up more closely with the tight scenario the preview left open, though the attacking edge ended up belonging to the visiting team rather than the home side, as that projection had suggested.

The Penalty Shootout

With the 1-1 scoreline holding through the end of the second half, everything came down to the spot. Tomás Bobcek and Domenico Berardi got things started without a miss, and the shootout stayed even until Wisdom Amey missed for Frosinone and Darryl Bakola converted for Sassuolo. It all wrapped up when Luis Hasa sent his attempt over the bar, sealing a 4-3 shootout win for Sassuolo. Per the rules governing this particular tie, that shootout only decided who picked up the extra point on the night: Sassuolo won the shootout, but there was no elimination and no advancement on the line.

What this match leaves behind is the picture of a Frosinone side that generated more volume and more chances, a Sassuolo team that struck first and weathered the disallowed VAR goal at the most delicate moment, and a shootout that ultimately tipped in the home side's favor by the smallest possible margin.