Sassuolo 6-1 Cittadella: Granata suffer biggest defeat in club history

Cittadella suffered its biggest loss in club history on Saturday as the Granata were humbled 6-1 by Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium.

This was the first time in Cittadella’s history that the club lost a game by five goals, setting a new record for heaviest defeat. A second half meltdown saw Sassuolo net five goals past Cittadella in Saturday afternoon’s 6-1 thrashing.

The loss is the third in a row for Cittadella and puts Edoardo Gorini’s side in the relegation zone as the October international break begins.

“We managed to straighten out the match and for an hour we stayed in it,” Gorini said after the game. “After the 3-1 score we cannot fold and I take responsibility for what happened.”

Cittadella were in need of a result following two back-to-back defeats against Mantova and Frosinone. Luca Maniero’s mistake costed the Granata four minutes into the game as Samuele Mulattieri pounced on the goalkeeper’s loose touch. Gorini’s side responded 13 minutes later as Alessio Vita fired a volley from long range to score his first official goal of the season.

Both sides went into halftime level at 1-1, but it was Sassuolo who regained the lead ten minutes after the break through Cristian Volpato. The Neroverdi punished a turnover by Federico Casolari as Volpato scored his first goal of the season.

Sassuolo would be awarded a penalty at the hour mark as Matteo Angeli was called for a handball. Norwegian midfielder Kristian Thirstvedt buried his penalty to give the hosts a 3-1 advantage.

“The third penalty was ridiculous, you can’t give away goals like that,” Gorini said. “If there’s a handball with the arm attached, you cannot give a penalty. The referees themselves told us this less than a month ago.”

Sassuolo scored three goals within ten minutes to slam the door. A pair of goals from Nicholas Pierini and a penalty conversion from Armand Lauirente put the Neroverdi up 5-1 in the 72nd minute. Thorstvedt completed his brace ten minutes later to put six past Cittadella.

It’s now two straight weekend’s where Cittadella sets unwanted records. The Granata set a club record last weekend after going 11 home games without a win: the most in club history. The 6-1 result on Saturday is now the club’s biggest loss on record.

Cittadella will have two weeks of rest before hosting Cosenza on Oct. 19 at 15:00.

“After a defeat like this, the international break is good to understand the last half hour of the game,” Gorini said. “There will be a lot of work to do, as always, on the players’ minds”.

PHOTO: Gianni Santandrea/LaPresse