Sassuolo boost survival bid

Sassuolo boosted their hopes of Serie A survival with a 1-0 win at Chievo in Verona.

Sassuolo boosted their hopes of Serie A survival with a 1-0 win at Chievo in Verona on Saturday afternoon. Domenico Berardi scored the only goal of the game in the 40th minute to hand Sassuolo three precious points in their battle to avoid the drop. Chievo have dropped to 16th place, just two points clear of Sassuolo and the relegation zone with four games remaining. The home side had the first chance in the 17th minute when Bostjan Cesar's nodded Cyril Thereau's cross just wide. Sassuolo almost went ahead before the half-hour mark when Berardi set up Paolo Cannavaro in the area and his left-footed strike was saved by Chievo goalkeeper Michael Agazzi. Agazzi was called again to make a save in the 37th minute to clear Simone Missiroli's close-range attempt. Sassuolo's efforts paid off before the interval. Antonio Floro Flores spotted Berardi in the box and the Italian striker fired a right-footed shot past Agazzi and into the back of the net. Early in the second half, Sassuolo goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo kept out Luca Rigoni's hard drive from 30-yards in what his first save of the afternoon. Sassuolo should have doubled their lead but Reto Ziegler wasted a clever pass from Berardi when he struck the ball way off target from a good position. Chievo came very close to equalising eight minutes from time but Thereau's powerful header was pushed over the bar by Pegolo, much to the disappointment of the home crowd. That save proved vital as Sassuolo held on for their seventh win of the campaign.