10-man Sassuolo pulled off a gritty 2-1 victory over Atalanta, knocking the European contenders out of the Serie A top six.

The opening 15 minutes of the Sassuolo vs Atalanta game was an absolute whirlwind of end-to-end action. 

MAMMA MIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

𝓯𝓾𝓵𝓵 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 🔚#SassuoloAtalanta 2-1#ForzaSasol 🖤💚 pic.twitter.com/lW8S02a2t3

— U.S. Sassuolo (@SassuoloUS) March 1, 2026

Pinamonti tested Carnesecchi with an early header, which immediately triggered a lightning-fast counter-attack at the other end. Niola Zalewski found himself one-on-one with the keeper just seconds later but inexplicably dragged his shot wide of the far post. The chaos continued as Carnesecchi was forced into another brilliant save to deny a low effort from Kristian Thorstvedt.

The game took a dramatic turn in the 15th minute when referee Matteo Marchetti reached for his red card. Pinamonti, who had been a focal point of the early attack, was sent off for a nasty challenge on Berat Djimsiti. At that moment, with over 75 minutes of play remaining, most observers expected Atalanta to cruise to a comfortable victory against the shorthanded hosts.

Remarkably, the numerical disadvantage seemed to galvanize Sassuolo rather than break them. In the 23rd minute, the hosts took a shock lead when Armand Lauriente delivered a dangerous inswinging corner. Kone was perfectly positioned practically underneath the crossbar to direct the ball home, leaving the Atalanta defense static and the traveling fans in disbelief.

Atalanta pushed hard for an equalizer before the break, but they ran into a literal brick wall in the form of Arijanet Muric. The Sassuolo goalkeeper was in inspired form, smartly redirecting a first-time strike from Lazar Samardzic and making an acrobatic save to deny Raoul Bellanova’s header. 

At halftime, a clearly frustrated Raffaele Palladino turned to his bench, making a triple substitution that included the introduction of top scorer Nikola Krstovic.

The second half remained a struggle for the visitors as they lacked the clinical edge needed to break down a deep-lying defence. Sassuolo, meanwhile, waited for their moment to strike again, and they did so in spectacular fashion. 

In the 69th minute, Kristian Thorstvedt unleashed an absolute screamer that flew into the top corner, doubling the lead and leaving Carnesecchi with no chance of a save.

A late bit of magic from substitute Yunus Musah in the 88th minute finally gave Atalanta a lifeline with a sublime strike. They nearly snatched a point in the dying seconds, but Muric produced one final miracle, tipping a Giorgio Scalvini header onto the crossbar. 

The 2-1 victory marks Sassuolo’s first hat-trick of league wins since March 2023 and brings them within seven points of their opponents.

For Atalanta, the celebrations of their Champions League progress are officially over. The defeat sees them slide out of the top six, though they remain just a single point behind sixth-placed Juventus.