Sassuolo overcome Inter 2 - 0 at San Siro

MILAN – Sometimes try as you might there’s no way of undoing the damage done, and this evening was a case in point for Inter. Despite showing tremendous courage and effort the Nerazzurri were unable to revert the 2-0 lead Sassuolo had gone into within half an hour. Football is cruel; this week Inter dominated one of the best teams of the world in Liverpool for the vast majority of the encounter and were on top against a free-spirited Sassuolo side yet eventually fell to defeat. Following a frenetic first half Simone Inzaghi’s men threw the kitchen sink at the visitors but were ultimately unable to find the breakthrough. 

Inter went into their Serie A clash against Sassuolo smarting from the midweek defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League. Wednesday night’s events had upped the ante for the Nerazzurri in what an important fixture in a decisive month for Inzaghi’s men was already. 

Alessandro Bastoni and Marcelo Brozovic missed out through suspension while Joaquin Correa, Robin Gosens, and Matias Vecino were also unavailable. Coach Inzaghi opted for Federico Dimarco in defence to fill in for Bastoni, Nicolo Barella was recalled to midfield following his midweek absence and featured alongside Roberto Gagliardini, while Alexis Sanchez was elected to partner Lautaro Martinez in attack. Alessio Dionisi stuck with his tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 with Hamed Traore, Giacomo Raspadori, and Domenico Berardi supporting Gianluca Scamacca in attack.

While the San Siro faithful was enthusiastic from the get-go they were made fully aware of the task ahead after only 45 seconds. In what became a recurring theme in Sunday’s game Traore – who menaced greatly in the first half - pounced on a loose ball in midfield and tore into the Nerazzurri’s defence. Indeed, it didn’t take Sassuolo long to capitalise on their good play; Hakan Calhanoglu was dispossessed in midfield with Berardi then feeding Raspadori whose smart right-footed finish found the net before Samir Handanovic had time to react.

Despite falling behind Inter weren’t discouraged; Inzaghi’s side were driven on by the fervent home support throughout. Andrea Consigli thwarted Lautaro’s effort before the Sassuolo keeper saw Calhanoglu come close with his attempt. Any optimism was quickly dampened when the visitors managed to doubled their lead after 26 minutes. Traore made a foray down the left flank before playing in a cross, a static Ivan Perisic hoped for an offside that never came and Scamacca was left free to head in.

Inter tried to muster a reaction which was characterised with more nerves than reason. Consigli became the Nerazzurri’s bugbear, keeping out a Milan Skriniar header and denying Roberto Gagliardini’s right-footer. Yet Sassuolo weren’t sitting back and settling for a 2-0; Berardi hit the bar, warning Inzaghi’s side that while attacking was a priority for the Nerazzurri defence duties shouldn’t be neglected.

The Nerazzurri went into the interval frustrated at themselves, aware of what was at stake, and keen to hit the ground running in the second 45 and the performance produced after the break was a reflection of this. Inzaghi’s side were enthusiastic but at times irrational; plenty of commitment but lacking in precision. There were plenty of chances for Inter but Consigli held firm in the Sassuolo goal.

Inzaghi decided to shake things up and threw Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries into the mix. The Bosnian threated on several occasions but found his match in Consigli. Inter’s frustration grew as the minutes ticked by and they remained two goals behind, ever aware that Sassuolo could break and increase their advantage at any time. 

It was clear that it wasn’t to be Inter’s night when Lautaro missed from point blank range on 72 minutes. Sassuolo sensed that it was a moment to kill the game off; Raspadori and Berardi tried to capitalise on an end of a game which lacked cohesion, was full of mistakes, loose balls, and last-ditch tackles. It seemed like the Nerazzurri might have a chance of salvaging something from the game when Stefan de Vrij’s header found the net in the 94th minute but VAR ruled the strike out following a Federico Dimarco hand ball. It summed up a match to forget.

Inter head away from San Siro having yet to claim a victory in February in Serie A but still sit pretty on 54 points, two behind Milan with a game in hand. Next Friday’s trip to Genoa offers a chance of ending the month on a high and continuing their fight to defend their Serie A title.

Inter 0-2 Sassuolo (HT 0-2) Scorers: 8 Raspadori (S), 26 Scamacca (S).

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij, 32 Dimarco; 36 Darmian (2 Dumfries 46), 5 Gagliardini (9 Dzeko 46), 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu (22 Vidal 78), 14 Perisic (33 D'Ambrosio 78); 10 Lautaro, 7 Sanchez.

Unused substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 97 Radu, 11 Kolarov, 13 Ranocchia, 22 Vidal, 33 D'Ambrosio, 38 Sangalli, 42 Casadei, 47 Carboni, 88 Caicedo.Coach: Simone Inzaghi. 

SASSUOLO (4-2-3-1): 47 Consigli; 17 Muldur, 5 Ayhan (44 Ruan 46), 21 Chiriches, 77 Kyriakopulos; 16 Frattesi (97 Matheus Henrique 70), 8 Maxime Lopez; 25 Berardi, 18 Raspadori, 23 Traore (20 Harroui 78); 91 Scamacca (92 Defrel 70). Unused substitutes: 24 Satalino, 56 Pegolo, 4 Magnanelli, 6 Rogerio, 7 Oddei, 11 Ciervo, 13 Peluso, 15 Ceide.Coach: Alessio Dionisi.

Booked: Raspadori (S), Muldur (S), D'Ambrosio (I)Time added on: 1, 7Referee: Fourneau.Assistants: Mondin, De Meo.Fourth official: Camplone.VAR: Valeri, Longo.