Inter missed the opportunity to move top of Serie A as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Sassuolo on Sunday.
Giacomo Raspadori struck after eight minutes at San Siro, with Gianluca Scamacca adding a second in the first half.
Simone Inzaghi’s side dominated possession throughout but could not breach Alessio Dionisi’s defence.
It leaves the Nerazzurri with just one win from their last five games across all competitions.
Salernitana held leaders Milan on Saturday, but Inter – who have played fewer games.
Inter failed to grasp the opportunity to move a point clear at the summit.
Goals:
Sassuolo fire themselves ahead. They’ve been very, very lively right from the off. After Lopez dispossesses Calhanoglu in midfield, he finds Berardi, who feeds Raspadori, who cuts inside to fire a low shot underneath Handanovic to put the Neroverdi into a 1-0 lead.
The visitors have two!!! After another quick transition from defence to attack, Traore gets the ball in space and crosses into the box. Scamacca ghosts at the far post to nod the ball past Handanovic, off the post, and in! 2-0.
What does it mean? Inter slip up in pursuit of Scudetto.
After seeing Milan held, Inzaghi’s side knew a win would take them top – a point clear of Stefano Pioli’s team and four clear of third-placed Napoli.
However, after the Nerazzurri’s six-game unbeaten league run against Sassuolo ended, Inter remained two behind Milan and just one clear of Luciano Spalletti’s men as the race for the Scudetto continues to twist and turn.
Dionisi’s side had won just one of their last eight league games, but victory on the road saw them climb above Empoli and into 11th.
Brilliant Berardi.
Berardi may feel unfortunate he did not get on the scoresheet in the opening 45 minutes after sending a glorious left-footed strike against the crossbar from just outside the area.
However, the Sassuolo captain did assist Raspadori’s opener, which made him the first player across Europe’s top-five leagues to register double figures for both goals and assists this season.
Missing Martinez.
Martinez has scored four goals against Sassuolo in the competition – only registering more against Cagliari.
But the striker struggled here as he fired another blank.
The Argentina international missed a glorious second-half chance and has not found the net in seven league appearances.
Martinez joint-longest runs in Serie A (also seven matches in August 2019).
Inter visit Genoa on Friday, while Sassuolo will host Fiorentina the next day.What’s next?
