Lecce kept their Serie A survival hopes flickering with an extraordinary 3-2 victory at the MAPEI Stadium, sealing it with a 96th-minute goal that sent their travelling support into delirium. What appeared a routine home win for Sassuolo—who led 2-1 with 20 minutes remaining—became a tournament-defining moment for a side teetering on the edge of relegation, courtesy of a brace from Walid Cheddira and a last-gasp finish from Nikola Štulić.
The opening 25 minutes belonged entirely to Lecce's counter-attacking prowess. Inside 14 minutes, Cheddira punished Sassuolo's press by latching onto loose possession and slotting beyond the hosts' keeper—a warning the Emilia-Romagna outfit failed to heed. Armand Laurienté drew them level six minutes later, meeting Pedro Felipe's low cross from the right and tucking home on 20 minutes, but Lecce struck again almost immediately. On 25, Cheddira swept in Lameck Banda's assist to restore the visitors' lead, 1-2. Sassuolo's frustration deepened when Kristian Thorstvedt's effort was ruled out for offside on 28 minutes—a marginal decision that typified their afternoon's luck.
For all their dominance—Sassuolo controlled 74% possession and fashioned 13 attempts—the hosts lacked cutting edge through the first half. Their press often yielded possession in dangerous areas, inviting Lecce's swift transitions. The visitors, with just 26% of the ball, made every opportunity count, their eight corners a potent weapon that Sassuolo's defence found increasingly difficult to manage. The half ended with Lecce's structure intact and their lead preserved.
Sassuolo threw bodies forward after the interval, sensing the need for the second goal that would have effectively settled matters. Yet Lecce's discipline—save for Ylber Ramadani's 54th-minute yellow for roughing—held firm until the 82nd minute, when Andrea Pinamonti, introduced as a substitute on 63, met Ulisses Garcia's delivery to level at 2-2. The momentum swung decisively toward the home side. Tarik Muharemović was cautioned on 77 for a cynical challenge; Danilo Veiga followed on 81 for holding. Sassuolo poured forward, hunting the decisive goal—but Lecce's resilience and a string of desperate blocks kept them alive.
Then came the denouement. Deep into stoppage time, with the clock showing 96 minutes, Štulić collected Omri Gandelman's pass and finished ruthlessly to send Lecce within touching distance of safety. Cheddira, the star of the show, had departed on 80 minutes—his replacement Francesco Camarda unable to replicate his intelligence—yet the team he'd set up with his brace held their nerve through a barrage of Sassuolo pressure to claim three improbable points.
Cheddira was the catalyst for Lecce's revival, his 9.2 rating a reflection of his two finishes and his ability to press Sassuolo into turnovers. Laurienté matched that mark for the hosts with his energetic running and one clinical finish, whilst Pinamonti's introduction off the bench proved momentarily decisive, netting the equaliser that seemed destined to be the final word. As Roma Press reported, Pinamonti's back-heeled goal brought him to nine league tallies—a tally that has already alerted Juventus and Inter to his availability this summer.
Lecce coach Eusebio Di Francesco, as football-italia.net noted, admitted the victory provided as much cardiac stress as clinical remedy to their plight. With three games to play, the Salento side remain in the scrap but now possess genuine hope where, at 1-2 down with 63 minutes on the clock, despair had threatened to overwhelm them. Sassuolo, conversely, missed an opportunity to climb toward mid-table safety; their wastefulness in front of goal—five shots on target from 13 attempts—proved their undoing.
The result leaves Lecce's fate on a knife-edge. Sassuolo, wounded at home, must regroup swiftly with the season entering its endgame. For the visitors, this was not merely three points—it was a lifeline thrown to men drowning in the relegation waters.