Jay Idzes, Sassuolo's Dutch defender, opened his 2026-27 Serie A campaign on the wrong side of a 2-1 defeat away against Atalanta on 24 August, as the neroverdi fell to Maurizio Sarri's side in the opening round of the season.
The result leaves Sassuolo in 12th place with no points from one match, having conceded twice and scored once. For Idzes, 26, it is an inauspicious start to what figures to be a defining season — one in which Alberto Aquilani's side will need their defensive core to perform consistently if they are to climb the table. A single defeat tells you little on its own, but the manner in which a team concedes in the first match of a campaign can reveal structural habits that persist.
Giacomo Raspadori and Krstovic scored for Atalanta, with Odenthal pulling one back for Sassuolo to make it 2-1 before the final whistle. Aquilani, speaking after the match, said his side did not deserve to lose — a coach's assessment that carries some weight when the scoreline was tight and the opposition were a side with European ambitions of their own.
Idzes himself does not yet have a Serie A appearance to his name this season in the statistical record, which reflects only that the campaign is one match old and the data is still forming around him. His AI overall rating sits at 71 out of 100, a baseline that will be tested across the weeks ahead.
What the Bergamo defeat does clarify is the competitive environment Idzes enters. Sarri's Atalanta are building momentum, and Sassuolo's defensive unit will face sharper examinations as the schedule deepens. Aquilani's belief in his squad's capacity to compete is on record. Whether Idzes can anchor the back line and translate that belief into results is the question the season will answer.