Sassuolo 1-0 Inter Milan: Newly-crowned Champions suffer defeat at relegation-threatened hosts

Inter Milan, the newly crowned champions, suffered their second Serie A defeat this season, as relegation-threatened Sassuolo won 1-0 at home on Saturday thanks to a first-half goal from Armand Lauriente.

Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season because they are the only team to defeat Inter in the league, winning 2-1 in the reverse fixture in September.

The result was a significant boost for Sassuolo's relegation battle, as they now sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points separating them from Cagliari in 14th place.

With the title secured in late April, Inzaghi rested several players, including striker Marcus Thuram, midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, and goalkeeper Yann Sommer, in order to give the rest of the squad more playing time.

After 20 minutes, the hosts scored the game's only goal when Josh Doig wrestled the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and passed it to Lauriente, who finished from close range.

While Inter had several chances, Sassuolo keeper Andrea Consigli made several excellent saves in the first half to keep the visitors at bay.

Lautaro Martinez thought he had equalised for Inter in first-half stoppage time, but after a lengthy VAR review, his goal was ruled out for offside.

Inter pushed for an equaliser in the second half but were unable to break through a determined Sassuolo defence. Both Marko Arnautovic and Martinez squandered good opportunities for the visitors, resulting in the hosts taking all three points.

SportsLigue