Frosinone 4-2 Sassuolo: Raimondo treble makes history

No Frosinone player had ever scored a hat-trick in Serie A. Antonio Raimondo changed that on Friday night, and in doing so he pushed Massimiliano Alvini's side into fourth place with a 4–2 win over Sassuolo that was as ruthless as it was chaotic.

The treble takes Raimondo to seven league goals in seven appearances and makes him the outright leader of the Serie A scoring charts, clear of Donyell Malen. Before kickoff he was presented with the league's Rising Star of the Month award for August–September, while Alvini collected Coach of the Month for the same period. By full time, neither award looked generous.

Calò and Berardi trade blows in a breathless opening

Frosinone struck first through pressure, not patience. On nine minutes Sassuolo tried to build from deep. Patrizio Masini pressed Darryl Bakola inside the visitors' penalty area and won the ball, and Giacomo Calò arrived to lash a right-footed shot into the top corner past Arijanet Murić.

Sassuolo protested that Masini had fouled Bakola, but referee Matteo Marchetti judged the challenge fair. Bakola answered in the best way he could. Six minutes later his ball over the top released Domenico Berardi, who rounded Lorenzo Palmisani and rolled a left-footed finish into the net.

It was Berardi's 132nd Serie A goal, drawing him level with Alessandro Altobelli in 41st place on the league's all-time list.

VAR denies Kvernadze before Raimondo punishes Murić

Frosinone thought they had restored their lead almost at once. In the 17th minute Giorgi Kvernadze tapped in Anthony Oyono's cross at the far post, but a VAR check found Kvernadze had started from an offside position, and Marchetti ruled the goal out. The score stayed 1–1.

The reprieve did not last. On 26 minutes Murić failed to collect Calò's low delivery from the right, and Raimondo stepped past Cas Odenthal to tap into an unguarded net.

Four minutes later Murić was caught out again. The goalkeeper raced far outside his area, misjudged the ball completely, and Raimondo was left to roll a composed finish into the empty goal. Two chances, two gifts, two goals.

Sassuolo refused to fold. Kristian Thorstvedt exchanged a quick one-two with Sebastiano Esposito and drove a low diagonal shot past Palmisani on 37 minutes, sending the teams in at 3–2 after five goals in one half. Aquilani's side have scored in each of their last seven league games, 12 goals in that run, and that resilience kept the contest alive.

Raimondo seals history after the break

The decisive blow came on 57 minutes, and once more Murić was at the centre of it. Kvernadze recycled a corner cross to Farès Ghedjemis, whose close-range header was parried straight into Raimondo's path, and the striker smashed the rebound home from two yards out.

That made him one of only three players across Europe's top five leagues this season with three or more multi-goal league matches, alongside Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (3) and Raphinha (4). He also became the youngest Italian to score three times in a Serie A game since Berardi, the man who had scored for Sassuolo earlier on the night, did it against Milan in May 2015.

When Raimondo was replaced by Daniel Bîrligea in the 90th minute, the home supporters rose to give him a standing ovation. Alvini summed him up in a sentence: "Raimondo è un giocatore velenoso, ha lavorato tanto e questi sono i frutti." Venomous, hard-working, and now reaping the reward.

The numbers explain how Frosinone won it. Sassuolo had 58% of the ball, yet Frosinone took 21 shots to 14 and hit the target 10 times to six. Alvini's side did not need to control the game. They needed to make Sassuolo uncomfortable in possession, and three of their four goals grew directly from mistakes at the back.

Aquilani did not hide from it, though he shielded his goalkeeper: "Errori evitabili, ma non gettiamo la croce addosso a Muric."

Frosinone climb to fourth as pressure builds on Sassuolo

The win lifts Frosinone, at least provisionally, to fourth on 13 points, level with Cagliari and ahead of Milan and Juventus. It also keeps their home record perfect, with three straight league wins in front of their own fans.

The national press has praised Alvini's team as an aggressive, courageous revelation built on verticality and intense pressing, and has begun to frame Raimondo as a candidate for Roberto Mancini's Italy squad. Raimondo has scored in three of Frosinone's last six league games, and on this evidence he is the clearest expression of how they want to play.

Sassuolo sit 11th on eight points and have now gone three league games without a win, with no league victory since beating Juventus on September 13. Without injured defenders Leysen and Idzes, they were picked apart at the back, and commentators singled out Murić's errors and the risk of playing out from deep.

Aquilani's side can still find goals. The question is how long that will be enough if they keep handing them out at the other end.