Monza ended four Serie A matches without a win by beating Sassuolo 2-1 at the U-Power Stadium, and the margin was built entirely in a twelve-minute second-half stretch in which Monza forward Gustavo Varela scored twice — once from open play, once from the spot.
The first goal arrived at 51', when Varela converted an opportunity assisted by Monza midfielder Samuele Birindelli. The score had been goalless to that point, and Varela's opener gave Ivan Jurić's side something they had not held in Serie A all season: a lead. Jurić had made three substitutions simultaneously at 56' — Dany Mota on for Patrick Cutrone, Manga Foe Ondoa on for Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, and Adam Bakoune on for Ricardo Mangas — a triple change that reshaped the game before Sassuolo had time to respond to going behind. Then, at 63', Varela stepped up to convert a penalty and double the lead. Two goals in twelve minutes, both from the same boot, against a Sassuolo side that had arrived in Brianza having beaten Juventus in their previous Serie A home fixture.
Varela is the obvious individual to examine here. A brace — one assisted, one from the penalty spot — made him the architect of a result that had looked improbable given Monza's season to that point. His evening ended with a yellow card in the 90+2' minute, and he was still on the pitch when the final whistle came, which underlines that Jurić kept faith with him through the full contest. The assist from Birindelli on the opener was the other decisive contribution; Birindelli was eventually withdrawn in the 90+3' minute, though he too had collected a yellow card at 85'.
Sassuolo, managed by Alberto Aquilani, did pull one back through substitute Vasilije Adžić at 88', but the goal arrived too late to threaten a result that had been settled for the better part of half an hour. The visiting side's single yellow card — Luca Lipani at 85' — suggests a relatively disciplined evening, but Aquilani's five second-half substitutions, beginning at 64', could not unlock a Monza defence that held firm once the two-goal cushion was established. Sassuolo had drawn with Bologna in their preceding Serie A away fixture; the form was there, the result was not.
The context around this win matters. Monza had collected one point from their first four Serie A matches, conceding eleven goals in the process. Their Serie A form across those four games read: no wins, one draw, three defeats. This result moves that record to one win, one draw, and two defeats — modest in absolute terms, but a meaningful shift in trajectory. Across all competitions in their last five matches including this one, Monza now show two wins, one draw, and two defeats. Sassuolo, who had taken seven points from their opening four league games, see their last-three Serie A form settle at one win, one draw, and one defeat after this loss — a reminder that their early-season momentum was not immune to a well-timed opponent.
Gustavo Varela's double did not merely win a match; it gave Jurić's Monza their first evidence that the goals they have been conceding this season can be answered at the other end.