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Antonio Conte’s team is on the brink of elimination from elite European competition, but inflicted a first defeat this season on top-flight Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium.
“We always play great games, but we are still missing something in the shot,” said Chilean Alexis Sánchez, who scored after four minutes.
“Against Real Madrid we made a lot of mistakes and we were shy when entering the field.
“But I have faith in my teammates and we have to do well against both the big and the small.”
Inter’s top scorer Romelu Lukaku started on the bench alongside Ashley Young, with Sassuolo missing their top scorer Francesco Caputo.
Sánchez scored in the first minutes of the match after a good job from Lautaro Martínez and a poor defense from Vlad Chiriches de Sassuolo.
It was a nightmare match for Chiriches, who then accidentally turned a powerful center from Arturo Vidal into his own net, and the Romanian then hobbled off with a muscle problem.
Filip Djuricic missed the opportunity to get the hosts back into the game, rattling the wood in the 21st minute.
Roberto Gagliardini added a third after an hour, sealing a victory to power Inter ahead of next week’s European trip to Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Lukaku and Young came in for Lautaro and Sánchez during the final 10 minutes, and the Belgian striker had an offside goal.
Conte also brought in Christian Eriksen, who appears set to leave Inter in January after just one year.
The Danish midfielder replaced Ivan Perisic in the final five minutes.
“In January, if the player (Eriksen) has not participated in some games, he will be the first to apply to be transferred,” Inter general manager Giuseppe Marotta had said before the game.
“But we will have to do it without controversy.”
Inter advance second ahead of Sassuolo, with both teams with 18 points after nine games, two points behind AC Milan, which host Fiorentina on Sunday.
A minute’s silence was observed before the game for Diego Maradona with a photo of the former star of Argentina and Napoli also projected on giant screens in the 10th minute of all matches in Italy.
Champions League fifth place Juventus head to Benevento on Saturday afternoon with Atalanta at home against Hellas Verona.
ea / mw
