REGGIO EMILIA, Italy (April 4, 2026) (Interstat) — Sassuolo opened its Serie A campaign with a 2-1 victory over Cagliari at Mapei Stadium on Saturday.

Defender Ulisses Garcia broke a scoreless deadlock in the 50th minute with his opening goal. Forward Andrea Pinamonti doubled the lead for the hosts in the 78th minute, though he received a yellow card a minute later. Cagliari substitute Sebastiano Esposito scored a late consolation goal in second-half stoppage time.

The result defied a pre-match projection from Interstat, which had simulated a 1-1 draw. Its analytics system gave Sassuolo a 76.1% probability to win. Sassuolo begins the season 1-0-0, while Cagliari starts 0-1-0.