Viareggio tournament, Sassuolo wins: Alex Transfiguration beaten on penalties

Under the light rain of Pontedera, Sassuolo won the Viareggio Tournament on penalties (5-3), restarted with the 72nd edition after the two-year stop imposed by Covid. Adrian Cannavaro, Paolo’s son, born in 2004, and his teammates beat the Nigerians of the Alex Transfiguration after the 0-0 which held up even in extra time, confirming himself as the best defense of the competition, despite the dynamism of the opponents difficulty until the last second. Unlucky the boys of Ibe Johnson, a team from Lagos that started from the local church and became the first African to reach the final, who hit three poles between second half and additional minutes in addition to the one on penalties that cost the defeat. For the Emilian club it is the second success in the last four editions after that of 2017, proof of the quality with which it is working in its youth sector.

FEW OCCASIONS

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Without goals a frenetic first half, with bucks on both sides of the field, but ultimately few shots on goal. A constant also of the recovery when, however, the teams are much more tired, tested by the 15 days of matches of the tournament. The first chance after a quarter of an hour Leone has it inside the area, but after having missed a defender he is unable to give strength to his shot. On the other hand, Sassuolo fills the area well, with the Nigerian team forced several times to finish from outside. At 39 ‘another opportunity occurs on the feet of Ferrara who, pocketed in front of goal, takes the outside of the net. The curse of the goalposts When they return to the field, the pace slows down, especially those of the black-green from Cascione. The Alex Transfiguration, on the other hand, continues to attack even if it is not easy to have clear chances against this defense. Furthermore, the best ones are printed on the post. At 67 ‘Ezekiel hits the cross from the edge of the area, nine minutes from the end Akinsanmiro takes the post. Another couple of conclusions are blocked by Cannavaro. At 92 ‘Sighinolfi would have the opportunity to avoid extra time, but his shot went out a little. Eleven minutes later another sensational Moshood post after a defender deflected. At the start of the second of the two additional halves it is Leone who kicks up close to Olisa, the goalkeeper of the Nigerians. We go to penalties and here Ahmed’s mistake is decisive, not even to say it hits another post. Sassuolo scores all five and celebrates.