Inter could’ve retaken the leadership of Serie A, but instead they were shocked 2-0 at San Siro by Sassuolo, Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca pouncing on defensive errors, just as they did here against Milan.
Milan were held 2-2 by Salernitana last night, so Simone Inzaghi knew a win would catapult him back on top of the table. Marcelo Brozovic and Alessandro Bastoni sat out bans, so Nicolò Barella took the midfield reins, having been suspended for the midweek Champions League defeat to Liverpool. Alexis Sanchez stepped in, but Joaquin Correa, Robin Gosens and Matias Vecino were injured. The Neroverdi missed Filip Djuricic, Pedro Obiang, Filippo Romagna and suspended Gian Marco Ferrari, but Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori returned from bans.
Hamed Junior Traore failed to make the most of two early promising runs down the left, but Sassuolo did take a deserved lead when Domenico Berardi robbed Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield and threaded through for Raspadori, whose shot squirmed under Samir Handanovic’s body.
Calhanoglu drilled just wide with an angled drive and Lautaro Martinez scuffed wide on a Barella through ball, but Sassuolo doubled their lead when Traore floated a ball over the top and Ivan Perisic stood appealing for offside rather than marking Scamacca, who was allowed a totally free header.
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Milan Skriniar thought he’d got Inter back into it with a great header from a corner, but Andrea Consigli made a fine one-handed save.
Roberto Gagliardini also tested the goalkeeper from distance, but Sassuolo should’ve gone 3-0 up before the break, Berardi’s curler beating Handanovic to thump the crossbar.
Simone Inzaghi knew he had to shake things up, so introduced Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries, removing Matteo Darmian and Gagliardini.
Consigli stayed on his feet to deny Dzeko one-on-one as the striker sprung the offside trap on a Perisic ball over the top.
Ruan Tressoldi made a decisive interception as Dzeko tried to roll across for Lautaro Martinez’s tap-in, then Consigli flew to palm a Dzeko header out from under the bar on Perisic’s cross.
Dzeko hit a fresh-air shot from 12 yards on a Denzel Dumfries assist, then was again denied one-on-one by Consigli, although the offside flag was up on the Barella through ball.
There was an astonishing Lautaro Martinez miss from six yards on the Dzeko lay-off, somehow bundling wide as he came sliding in.
Moments later, Raspadori’s angled drive skimmed the far post, while Raspadori tried to dink it over Handanovic, who got a glove to the ball, allowing Skriniar to clear off the line. The move continued and Berardi’s curler was inches wide of the far top corner.
Dzeko caught Vlad Chiriches in possession and pulled it back for Alexis Sanchez, whose shot was charged down from 12 yards.
Inter did get the ball in the net at the 93rd minute with a Stefan de Vrij header, but it was disallowed because Federico Dimarco handled in the build-up. The referee watched it again on the VAR monitor and agreed Dimarco moved his arm towards the ball.
Inter 0-2 Sassuolo
Raspadori 8 (S), Scamacca 26 (S)