Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Report, Ratings & Reaction as the Nerazzurri Slip to Defeat in Serie A Opener
Inter got their 2018/19 Serie A campaign off to the worst possible start on Sunday evening as they slipped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sassuolo.
A first half penalty from Dominic Berrardi proved to be the difference as Inter were outfought and outthought by the home side in a disjointed and somewhat frustrating display.
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The Nerazzurri did up their game in the second half, but they weren't able to fashion themselves enough opportunities in the final third and were deservedly beat.
INTER
Key Talking Point
Inter had a wonderful summer transfer window on paper, but this game demonstrated that it may take some time before they are going to be able to string together some decent results.
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There were too many sloppy passes and poor decisions being made and they seemed to completely run out of ideas in the final third. It took until the final moments of the match for them to even force Consigli into a decent save, demonstrating that they still have some way to go before they can be considered true title contenders this year.
However, there were one or two first team players absent from the starting XI, such as new signing Radja Nainggolan, so things can only get better from here.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Handanovic (6); D'Ambrosio (6), Miranda (4), De Vrij (5), Dalbert (4), Brozovic (4), Vecino (5), Politano (6), Asamoah (5), Martinez (4); Icardi (5).
Substitutes: Perisic (6), Balde (5), Karamoh (N/A).
Star Man: There weren't any memorable performances to say the least, but Ivan Perisic was the only player who seemed to be up to the task.
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The Croatian started on the bench but was brought on at half time to occupy the left wing. He wasn't able to inspire a comeback, but Luciano Spaletti's men looked far better when he was on the pitch and if his teammates were able to play to his level the game could have turned out differently.
Worst Player: It was a debut to forget for Lautaro Martinez, who just couldn't get into the game during the 67 minutes he was on the pitch.
The Argentinian youngster seemed to be off the pace and he was muscled off the ball far too easily on occasions. He was on an entirely different wavelength to Mauro Icardi up top and the pair failed to string anything together in the final third.
Looking Forward
Inter will now be looking ahead to a home fixture against Torino next Sunday. Anything less than a win may leave them trailing in the wake of their potential title rivals, as Juventus, Napoli and Roma all picked up three points this weekend.
