Lukaku stars as Inter beat Sassuolo 4 - 2

There are many ways to celebrate a birthday. On the day he turned 30, Romelu Lukaku scored two fantastic and crucial goals as Inter ran out 4-2 winners over Sassuolo at San Siro. It was the Nerazzurri's fifth consecutive league win and a vital one in the race for the top four as Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg draws nearer. As always, it was a difficult encounter against Sassuolo. But Inzaghi's side were clinical and ferocious, dug in and then managed to strike. In addition to Lukaku's brace, there was a goal for Lautaro and an own goal by Tressoldi following a dangerous Bellanova ball in. There are many positives to take: Brozovic making things happen, Handanovic's saves and the ability to ride out a storm together.

Sassuolo were full of running, making inroads up the pitch. Frattesi's runs forward, Berardi cutting inside and creating problems, Laurientè's movement. Inter were aware of the Neroverdi's strengths and tried to dampen the visitors' fast start. Tressoldi intervened to thwart Lukaku after a counter-attack launched by Correa, but it was a sign of how Inter could inflict damage on their opponents: working the ball through the centre, where 2v2 situations frequently arose. It wasn't a dull affair, but Inter vs. Sassuolo never is. During the opening stages, two goals were disallowed. First, Berardi, who had been picked out by Laurienté, found the net, but VAR intervened with an offside call against the Sassuolo No.45. Then, Dimarco, from an offside position, found Correa, whose subsequent right-footed finish was chalked off. It remained goalless.

Things weren't exactly going Inter's way: Frattesi and Henrique's lethal runs were causing problems, as was Berardi. This would also be the case in the second half, when Sassuolo scored with two headed goals. In the opening period, however, Inter kept the away side at bay and went up a gear as the half-time whistle drew closer. Correa headed off target, Mkhitaryan threatened and Lukaku fired wide with his left foot. At the other end, Handanovic did really well to foil Frattesi. Then came the opening goal through Lukaku, who left fly with a fierce strike that sailed into the top corner. Consigli could do nothing about it.

The goal gave Inter real strength, and, with Lautaro having replaced Correa, Inzaghi's men pushed forward after the restart. They wanted to put the game to bed. Bellanova played in a menacing ball that Tressoldi got to first. However, the Sassuolo man could only direct it into his own net, leaving Inter two to the good. Luck certainly wasn't on Tressoldi's side: shortly afterwards, a powerful left-footed effort from Lautaro took a big deflection off the same opposition defender and beat Consigli. 3-0 and Inter were in full control.

However, Sassuolo aren't a side that try to conserve energy. Instead, they always look to play, keeping the ball on the ground, creating overlaps, getting men forward. Henrique's 63rd-minute goal from Berardi's cross was extremely similar to the one ruled out in the first half. Things became more complicated as Inter's pace dropped. Frattesi and Pinamonti had the loud San Siro crowd worried with 15 minutes of normal time to go, and, shortly afterwards, Frattesi headed home. Sassuolo were well and truly back in it.

Dionisi's team did everything they could to draw level. Inter, meanwhile, displayed great unity: with Brozovic keeping things ticking over, the Nerazzurri held off Sassuolo's advances together. Then, following an attack that was led by Marcelo, Lukaku killed off the match. The Croatian's through ball for Romelu was perfect, and the latter bagged with a lethal left-footed finish. A 4-2 win that sees Inter move up to 66 points in the table, level with Juventus in second. Thoughts now turn to the derby.

INTER 4-2 SASSUOLO

Goalscorers: 41' Lukaku (I), 55' own goal Tressoldi (S), 58' Lautaro (I), 63' Henrique (S), 76' Frattesi (S), 89' Lukaku (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 6 De Vrij (95 Bastoni 73'), 15 Acerbi; 12 Bellanova (36 Darmian 79'), 5 Gagliardini, 77 Brozovic, 22 Mkhitaryan (14 Asllani 61'), 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 61'); 90 Lukaku, 11 Correa (10 Lautaro 46') Substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 24 Onana, 2 Dumfries, 9 Dzeko, 20 Calhanoglu, 23 Barella, 46 Zanotti. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

SASSUOLO (4-3-3): 47 Consigli; 22 Toljan (21 Zortea 76'), 28 Erlic, 44 Tressoldi (13 Ferrari 64'), 6 Rogerio; 16 Frattesi, 27 Lopez, 7 Henrique (42 Thorstvedt 76'); 10 Berardi, 92 Defrel (9 Pinamonti 57'), 45 Laurienté (20 Bajrami 57'). Substitutes: 25 Pegolo, 64 Russo, 3 Marchizza, 8 Harroui, 11 Alvarez, 14 Obiang, 15 Ceide, 17 Muldur, 19 Romagna. Coach: Alessio Dionisi.

Booked: Defrel (S), Tressoldi (S), Henrique (S), De Vrij (I), Brozovic (I) Added time: 2' - 4'.

Referee: Marcenaro. Assistants: L. Rossi, Perrotti. Fourth official: Massa. VAR: Di Martino. VAR assistant: La Penna.

MATCHDAY 35

Lazio 2-2 Lecce Salernitana 1-0 Atalanta Spezia 2-0 AC Milan Inter 4-2 Sassuolo

Hellas Verona vs. Torino Monza vs. Napoli Fiorentina vs. Udinese Bologna vs. Roma Juventus vs. Cremonese Sampdoria vs. Empoli

TABLE

Napoli 83 Juventus 66 Inter 66* Lazio 65* Milan 61* Atalanta 58* Roma 58 Fiorentina 46 Udinese 46 Bologna 46 Monza 46 Torin 46 Sassuolo 44* Salernitana 39* Empoli 38 Lecce 32 H. Verona 30 Spezia 30* Cremonese 24 Sampdoria 17

*one more game played