Inter stunned by Sassuolo to end their perfect start in Serie A
Inter nerves were jangling at the prospect of facing a Sassuolo side who successfully dispatched Juventus at the weekend, and it showed in their early play.
There were still a couple of long-range attempts for the home side, but they were kept on their toes by a lively Armand Laurienté on the counter attack. Denzel Dumfries was the most positive outlet for Inter, and his efforts were almost rewarded when his cross found the head of Marcus Thuram, but the effort brushed the top of the crossbar.
Success in this fixture has been elusive for Sassuolo of late, but Alessio Dionisi urged his side to find the form that earned the Neroverdi eight wins in ten H2Hs between 2015 and 2019.
The visitors’ best chance of the opening period fell to an unlikely candidate in Jeremy Toljan, who ran onto Berardi’s backheel to sting the outstretched gloves of Yann Sommer.
However, for all of Sassuolo’s positive play, Dumfries was handsomely rewarded for his first-half efforts in stoppage time, as he feigned to cross before cutting inside to arrow into the far corner, and the Curva Nord erupted.
The cruel timing of that opener was met with a perfect response from Sassuolo after HT. Berardi was, as always, at the centre of everything his side did going forward, and he was the architect of a stunning comeback.
First, the club’s all-time record assist-maker slotted brilliantly through to Nedim Bajrami, who smashed at Sommer’s near post, catching the Swiss stopper off guard and finding the net.
As known by Sassuolo fans for a long time, Berardi is no stranger to a goal of his own, and he turned the game on his head just under 10 minutes later, with an incredible long-range left-footed strike, which dipped into the far post.
The home crowd were understandably silenced, and Andrea Consigli denied them an almost immediate equaliser as he kept out former Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi.
Opportunities dried up for Simone Inzaghi’s team, and the away side’s credentials as giant killers were verified as they made it to the final whistle with the lead intact, adding to Saturday’s heroic win over Juventus.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing end to Inter’s perfect winning record to start the Serie A season, and arch-rivals AC Milan are now hot on their heels after a win at Cagliari earlier on Wednesday evening.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
