Inter Milan swept aside Sassuolo with a 5-0 victory to temporarily extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points. It was an extremely entertaining game in which the Milanese were very efficient in front of goal.
On Sunday evening, Inter had the chance to temporarily extend their lead at the top of Serie A to eight points—their rivals Milan could only follow suit on Wednesday against Como. But the leaders from Milan came under massive pressure in Sassuolo after just a few moments: Koné’s shot was blocked by Dimarco in the nick of time (2nd minute). That was the start of an extremely entertaining first half.
Bisseck with the chance for a brace
In the 9th minute, Inter made their presence felt in attack with a double chance from Mkhitaryan and Luis Enrique. However, the visitors didn’t have long to lament the fact that the opportunity hadn’t led to a 1-0 lead, because after the resulting corner, the ball ended up in the Sassuolo net: Dimarco’s cross was converted by Bisseck with a bouncing shot (11′). It was the German’s second goal of the season. And just two minutes later, he almost scored his third, but a defender blocked the ball on the line. Dimarco was also unable to capitalize on the rebound (13′).
It would be impossible to list all the chances that occurred in the first half. The game went back and forth at times, and Inter were somewhat fortunate when Thuram made it 2-0 in the 28th minute after a cross from Dimarco. The Milanese were simply the more efficient team. Shortly before the break, Zielinski almost made it 3-0, but his shot was slightly off target (38′).
Sassuolo rewards itself, but VAR has other ideas
And then Sassuolo finally got their reward: after a failed bicycle kick by Berardi, Thorstvedt put the ball in the net (41′). It looked as if the game would go into the break with Inter leading 2-1, but then VAR intervened and disallowed the goal for offside. So, after 45 extremely entertaining minutes, Inter were able to enjoy a two-goal lead. At the start of the second half, Sassuolo continued their mission to get back into the game, but were abruptly stopped when Lautaro Martinez showed his class in the 50th minute: he controlled a header with his chest and converted with his left foot into the far corner. That was the game over, but Inter weren’t done yet. Shortly after the 3-0, Sassuolo looked shaky again on a Dimarco corner. Akanji took advantage and headed in to make it 4-0 (53′).
Game over after red card for Matic
After that, the Sassuolo players, who had actually played well up to that point but were still four goals down, were very frustrated. They complained vehemently because they thought there had been a foul before Akanji’s goal. However, referee Daniele Chiffi disagreed. Matic apparently used inappropriate language in his complaints and was sent off with a red card (55′).
Luis Henrique with a dream goal for the gallery
After that, the game was over. Inter had a few more chances—Thuram hit the post (63′), among other things—but the visitors were no longer really threatening. Nevertheless, the score became 5-0 when Sassuolo keeper Muric, who was having an off day, failed to deal with a cross. The ball landed at the feet of Luis Enrique, who put the icing on the cake with a beautiful volley (88′). Thanks to the 5-0 win, Inter’s lead over Milan at the top of the table is now eight points going into Wednesday.
Milan will continue their campaign next Saturday (8:45 p.m.) with a top-of-the-table clash at home against Juventus Turin. Sassuolo’s next game is on Sunday (12:30 p.m.) at Udinese Calcio.