Had the circumstances been slightly different in the summer, Domenico Berardi would have found himself on the opposite side of the pitch on Saturday night.
The Italian winger was a transfer target for Juventus and even missed the first couple of matches of the season while he was trying to push his way out of the Mapei Stadium.
Nevertheless, the 29-year-old ended up staying at Sassuolo for yet another season.
The Neroverdi icon continues to cement his legacy as the greatest player in the club’s history. Last night, he delivered the goods against the Bianconeri yet again.
On a night filled with defensive blunders, Berardi’s strike was arguably the most splendid of the six goals witnessed in his club’s 4-2 win over Juventus.
As Opta Paolo explains, Berardi has now extended his brilliant run against the Bianconeri. He has now been involved in five strikes (two goals and three assists) in his last six Serie A appearances against the Old Lady.
However, several sources believe that the player should have received his marching orders for a nasty studs-up challenge on Gleison Bremer when the result was still 2-1, including La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The pink newspaper believes referee Andrea Colombo should have shown him a red card instead of a yellow one.
For his part, Michael Fabbri in the VAR booth had to interfere and ask Colombo to review the incident on the monitor.
But following a brief review, Fabbri decided to spare Berardi and restrain himself from making a decision that could have changed the final outcome of the match.