Como missed their chance to move into the Serie A top four after falling to a 2-1 defeat against Sassuolo at MAPEI Stadium.

Cristian Volpato and M'Bala Nzola scored in a dramatic end to the first half, which also saw Nico Paz pull a goal back, but Cesc Fabregas' side were unable to mount a comeback as they remain fifth ahead of the weekend's action.

Despite Kristian Thorstvedt seeing an effort blocked for the home side after just 23 seconds, it was a largely uneventful first half until the 42nd minute, when the match exploded into life.

Volpato opened the scoring, lobbing Jean Butez with a composed first-time finish, and Nzola doubled Sassuolo's lead 105 seconds later after Armand Lauriente, who was brilliantly found by Nemanja Matic, played the Angolan through on goal.

Como would halve the deficit before half-time as Paz's looping header from Ivan Smolcic's cross found its way into the far corner, while the highly-rated midfielder saw another chance diverted away in the 68th minute.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser, with Marc Oliver Kempf and Jacobo Ramon trying their luck late on, but neither could test Stefano Turati as Sassuolo picked up their second win in six Serie A games.

Data Debrief: Paz's persistence not enough for Como

It was a deserved win for Sassuolo, who produced 1.26 expected goals from 12 shots to Como's 0.59, which also came from 12 attempts.

Paz was responsible for five of those shots (a match-high); he has recorded the most shots (116) and shots on target (48) in Serie A this season.

Paz is also the only midfielder to have scored more than five goals both at home and away in the top-five European leagues this season (six at home, six away in Serie A).

Nevertheless, it was Sassuolo who came out on top, with Fabio Grosso's side now winning five of their last seven home games in this league (L2).