REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, Italy (Interstat) — In a chaotic and dramatic conclusion to the Serie A season, Sassuolo secured a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina on Saturday despite finishing the match with nine men. The result at MAPEI Stadium - Città del Tricolore on the final day of the campaign defied pre-match projections and was sealed by a late own goal amid a flurry of cards and controversy.

The match, a Week 38 fixture to close the Italian league season, was a tense and physical affair from the outset. The first half saw three yellow cards and no goals, setting the stage for a second-half explosion of action.

Fiorentina broke the deadlock immediately after the restart. In the 46th minute, Arthur Cabral finished a move to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The goal seemed to put Fiorentina on course for a result that statistical models had favored, with Interstat’s ELO system giving them a 60.6 percent probability to win.

Sassuolo responded with pressure and found an equalizer in the 71st minute through captain Domenico Berardi, who had been booked earlier in the match. The momentum shifted decisively just eight minutes later, however, and in Fiorentina’s favor. Riccardo Saponara, who had entered the match as a substitute, put the visitors back ahead at 2-1 in the 79th minute with an assist from Aleksa Terzić.

The drama escalated in the final ten minutes. Sassuolo’s hopes appeared to evaporate when defender Rogério Oliveira da Silva was shown a red card in the 87th minute for a second bookable offense, reducing the home side to ten men. In a bizarre and pivotal sequence just one minute later, an own goal was recorded against Fiorentina, officially credited as an own goal that leveled the score at 2-2, though specific details of the play were not immediately provided in the official event log. This own goal proved to be the final equalizer.

Fiorentina’s numerical advantage lasted mere moments. In the 88th minute, Rogério, who had already been dismissed, was shown a second red card, an administrative notation indicating a subsequent sending-off for continued misconduct after his initial dismissal, effectively confirming Sassuolo would finish with nine players.

Despite being two men down, Sassuolo managed to see out the remaining moments to claim all three points. The final score of 2-1 for Sassuolo contradicted Interstat’s pre-game simulation, which had projected a 1-1 draw.

The match concluded the Serie A seasons for both clubs. Sassuolo finished with a record of 16 wins, 18 losses and 9 draws in the league. Fiorentina’s domestic campaign ended with 11 wins, 16 losses and 12 draws. The teams are scheduled to meet again in a different competition just eight days later, on April 26, at Fiorentina’s stadium.

The victory allowed Sassuolo to complete a league double over Fiorentina, having also won the previous encounter 3-1 in Florence on Dec. 6, 2025. The fiery finale sets the stage for a quick rematch between the two sides.