Sassuolo secured a famous 3-1 victory over Inter at the Mapei Stadium in the early kick-off on Sunday.
Two first half wonder-goals from Simone Zaza and Nicola Sansone against the run of play put Sassuolo in a commanding position, and despite substitute Mauro Icardi pulling one back late on, Domenico Berardi sealed the victory in stoppage time with a penalty.
Agree with out ratings? Feel free to tell us your opinion in the comments below.
Sassuolo
Andrea Consigli – 7 – Safe
Made a couple of great saves on Dodo and Vidic to preserve his side’s lead.
Sime Vrsaljko – 7 – Industrious
Really establishing himself as one of the premier fullbacks in the league this season. Worked hard up and down the right flank, and put in some delectable crosses.
Emanuele Terranova – 7 – Strong
Comfortable evening against the Inter front-men. Dealt with anything that came his way. Unfortunately went off on a stretcher with 10 minutes left with what looked like a serious injury.
Paolo Cannavaro – 7 – Imposing
Alongside Terranova, the ex-Napoli captain was strong at the back and looked unbeatable for the most part.
Alessandro Longhi – 6.5 – Reliable
Not as impressive as his teammate on the opposite flank, but the Italian did his job well in stifling the Inter attack. Came off injured in the second stanza.
Davide Biondini – 6 – Battler
Battled hard as always, and put in a shift defensively as his side were under the pump for the majority of the second half.
Francesco Magnanelli – 6 – Sturdy
Good display from the captain for the first 85 minutes until he gave Icardi a chance on a platter to give them a way back into the match.
Simone Missiroli – 6.5 – Solid
Efficient shift from the ex-Reggina star. Worked hard in the midfield, and even managed to jump in on some of his side’s attacking raids.
Domenico Berardi – 6.5 – Overshadowed
More subdued than his fellow forwards, but the talented youngster still put in a shift and contributed to the Neroverdi victory. Faded badly after the break however, but was on hand to net a penalty in stoppage time to confirm the victory.
Nicola Sansone – 7 – Dazzling
Dangerous on the counter, his speed and trickery was too much for Inter to deal with at times. Scored a sensational goal to cap off an outstanding display, but was needlessly sent off in the closing exchanges.
Simone Zaza – 8 – Handful
An absolute handful for the Nerazzurri defence. Gave Vidic and Ranocchia plenty to think about, and opened the scoring with a sumptuous turn and finish. Super display from the Azzurri star.
Substitutes
Marcello Gazzolla – 6 – Safe
Replaced the injured Longhi, and continued his good work down the left.
Luca Antei – NA
Matteo Brighi – NA
Inter
Samir Handanovic – 6 – Solid
Beaten by two wonder-goals, the keeper had a solid game otherwise.
Isaac Donkor – 5.5 – Unnerved
Lively in the opening 15 minutes, the youngster did not look overawed on his starting debut for the Nerazzurri. Faded after that as Sansone began wreaking havoc on that side, and soured his display by giving away a penalty in stoppage time to seal his team’s fate and got sent off in the process.
Andrea Ranocchia – 5.5 – Shaky
Poor once again from the captain. Left Zaza with too much room to rifle home the opener, and always looked susceptible to the ball coming in behind. Needs to improve.
Nemanja Vidic – 6 – Sluggish
Didn’t fare much better than his center-half partner, Vidic looked sluggish against his much younger and energetic opposition. Did come close to opening the scoring with a header in the opening exchanges of the match.
Dodo – 5 – Wasteful
Wasteful in possession, and poor defensively – you can see why Mancini has dropped the Brazilian in recent weeks. The talent is there, but he needs to learn how to focus for the full 90.
Fredy Guarin – 6 – Enigmatic
Typical Guarin performance, which meant some neat passages of play, coupled with plenty of ‘What’s he doing?’ moments. He does look better though in the deeper role under Mancini.
Gary Medel – 6.5 – Diligent
Did his job diligently and with no fuss. You know what you’re going to get with the uncompromising Chilean international, and he shielded the back four efficiently for the most part.
Mateo Kovacic – 5.5 – Subdued
Not good enough from the highly-rated midfielder. Looks way off his sparkling early-season form. Sat too deep to influence proceedings, and there were no signs of his trademark runs.
Rodrigo Palacio – 5 – Ineffective
It’s been a frustrating season for Palacio, having only netted twice in 18 games this season. It was the same story here, with the striker looking a shadow of his former self once again.
Xherdan Shaqiri -6.5 – Unlucky
Inter’s biggest threat, went looking for the ball constantly even if it didn’t come off a lot of the time. Unlucky not to score, after a long-range bullet hit the inside of the post in the second half.
Lukas Podolski – 5.5 – Lackluster
Finally got a start in his preferred position, but did nothing to warrant the boss’ decision. Offered little penetration and was hauled off just before the hour mark.
Substitutes
Mauro Icardi – 6 – Impact
On for Podolski just before the hour mark, opportunistically punished a defensive error to give the Nerazzurri a glimmer of hope with five minutes remaining. Will surely return to the starting line-up for the next game.
Marcelo Brozovic – N/A
George Puscas – N/A
