Simone Zaza’s sixth strike of the season saw Sassuolo stun AC Milan 2-1 at San Siro in Serie A action on Tuesday afternoon.
New signing Alessio Cerci began the game on the bench but even after his introduction, Milan looked short of inventiveness and despite taking the lead through Andrea Poli, goals in each half from Nicola Sansone and Simone Zaza deservedly saw the Neroverdi move into the top half.
It took just nine minutes for the Diavolo to keep the feel-good factor around the club high when Stephan El Shaarawy’s shot in the box was blocked but broke kindly for Poli who prodded past Andrea Consigli from close range.
He was so close to adding a second when he narrowly failed to connect with El Shaarawy’s intelligent through ball, that pair continuing to look threatening for Filippo Inzaghi’s side.
However, they were punished for their failure to convert their control of possession and the play on 28 minutes when a clipped pass of the highest quality from Domenico Berardi, who had hurt Milan so badly in this fixture last year, found Sansone to slam the ball to the net for his second goal of the season.
The striker had a habit of ‘big game’ goals during his time at Parma, solidifying that reputation once again for a side who almost took the lead moments later but Zaza could not supply the finishing touch to Simone Missiroli’s low cross.
That was to signal the start of a period of Neroverdi dominance that continued until half time, exposing a lack of creativity and ideas throughout the home side, who offered only a wayward Giacomo Bonaventura strike in reply before the break.
The visitors kept up their positivity into the second half as they looked for the goal that could see them leap into the top half of the table but the opening 20 minutes of the second half was rather lacklustre from both sides.
It needed something different, a spark to ignite it and Inzaghi tried to bring just that with the introduction of Cerci, signed from Atletico Madrid and registered in time, for Michael Essien.
Within 60 seconds, he almost turned the game when he found himself behind the resolute Sassuolo defence but was only denied by a last second scramble to punch the ball off his toe by the lively Consigli.
A minute later, any sense of excitement about the new arrival’s entrance was firmly extinguished as a corner from the left from Berardi found Zaza under little pressure and he powered a first time left volley into the net in sumptuous style.
From there, they would likely have been expecting a late Rossoneri rally, piling the pressure on and creating chances in pursuit of point(s). It never came.
A half-hearted penalty shout against Paolo Cannavaro, a brilliant volley from Giampaolo Pazzini that brought a fine save out of the former Atalanta goalkeeper and a tame Cerci curler was all there really was to write home about as they lost ground on the Champions League chasers.
