
Alessio Dionisi / Mapei Stadium
US Sassuolo enter the new Serie A campaign anchored in 6th place with the slate wiped clean at 0 points, yet the ghosts of May still haunt the Mapei Stadium. The Neroverdi's previous season ended in unmitigated disaster—a catastrophic LLLWD collapse that saw survival hopes extinguished through three straight defeats, culminating in a gut-wrenching 2-3 home capitulation to Lecce and a final 1-0 indignity at Parma. That traumatic finish betrayed everything this club has built its reputation upon. But football offers redemption, and through the wreckage, one flame still burns bright: Armand Laurienté. The fearless French winger, whose 5 goals made him the team's attacking beacon, remains the creative heartbeat—the dribbler who conjures magic when structure crumbles. Under Alessio Dionisi, the mandate is reconstruction: rebuilding the bold, progressive identity that once made Sassuolo Italy's most watchable underdogs. The 26-man squad knows the Mapei faithful will not tolerate another fragile campaign. This is a team that must rediscover its courage, play without fear, and prove that those May collapses were an aberration rather than prophecy. The new season offers a blank canvas—time for the Neroverdi to paint something beautiful again.
Sassuolo embrace an attacking, possession-based philosophy built on technical combinations and progressive build-up from deep positions. Their commitment to playing out from the back with high defensive lines creates entertaining, open matches but leaves them exposed to quick transitions and counter-attacks.