In Matchday 35 of the Serie A season, title contenders AC Milan travelled to face mid-table side Sassuolo and what looked like a routine fixture quickly turned into a nightmare for the Rossoneri.

The hosts wasted no time asserting themselves. Just five minutes into the game, Domenico Berardi latched onto a precise pass from Armand Laurienté and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1–0.

Things went from bad to worse for AC Milan midway through the first half. Defender Fikayo Tomori received his second yellow card, reducing his side to ten men and dramatically shifting the momentum in favour of Sassuolo.

Shortly after the restart, the home side capitalised on their numerical advantage. Following a well-worked move involving Kristian Thorstvedt, Armand Laurienté added his name to the scoresheet, finishing first-time to double the lead and effectively seal the outcome at 2–0.

2025-26, Italy - Serie A

Sassuolo - AC Milan 2:0 (1:0)
Goals: Berardi D., 5 (1:0); Lauriente A., 47 (2:0)

Sassuolo: Turati; Walukiewicz; U.Garcia; Matic (Lipani, 46); Idzes (Coulibaly W., 40); Thorstvedt; Muharemovic; Kone I.; Nzola (Pinamonti, 85); Berardi D. (Volpato C., 59); Lauriente A. (Fadera, 84)
Substitution: Coulibaly W. (from 40); Lipani (from 46); Volpato C. (from 59); Fadera (from 84); Pinamonti (from 85)
Bench: Satalino; Zacchi; Muric A.; Doig; Romagna; Vranckx; Iannoni; Moro L.
Yellow Cards: Matic 38; U.Garcia 57; Volpato C. 89; Fadera 90

AC Milan: Maignan; Estupiñán; Tomori (till 24); Pavlović S.; Fofana Y. (Pulisic, 59); Rabiot; Nkunku (Athekame, 46); Jashari A. (Ricci S., 66); Gabbia; Saelemaekers (Loftus-Cheek, 59); Rafael Leão (Gimenez S., 59)
Substitution: Athekame (from 46); Loftus-Cheek (from 59); Pulisic (from 59); Gimenez S. (from 59); Ricci S. (from 66)
Bench: Terracciano; De Winter K.; Bartesaghi; Fuellkrug
Yellow Cards: Tomori 9, 24; Ricci S. 71; Loftus-Cheek 77
Red cards: Tomori 24'