Sassuolo-Inter 0-1 in a friendly, goal by Dzeko

From our correspondent Filippo Conticello

December 29th
– Reggio Emilia

It won’t be Napoli who take it all, but Dionisi’s Sassuolo who, even if heavily remodeled, are still a slippery team: this is one of the reasons why the authority with which the Nerazzurri put the Emilians down in this last match before the second half spreads optimism from parts of Inzaghi. With the return of Lautaro, who has just landed in Milan, and with Brozovic now close to his old form, the solutions will increase again, but even as it is, Inter enters 2023 without having lost the slightest way towards goal. And he also hopes to confirm this newfound defensive solidity in the future. In the end, only a ball signed by Dzeko enters, the striker of this Mundial break, but comforting signals are also coming from his partner for one evening: Romelu Lukaku, who remained dry, is really starting to put fuel in the engine and is a great news in view of the challenge against Spalletti.

FIRST HALF

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Right from the start, Inzaghi’s formation takes the form of what will be on 4 January with the trio of starting defenders, Skriniar-Acerbi-Bastoni in front of Onana, and in the middle the trio of setters who allowed the Nerazzurri to rise again in the league: Calha director between the raiders Barella and Mkhitaryan. Bellanova starts from the beginning, even if Dumfries is now pawing behind, while on the other side Dimarco remains the leader of the left. Up front it’s up to Dzeko to push Lukaku’s clearly evident growth. On the other front, as a precaution, Dionisi renounced Berardi and Laurienté, and also Consigli due to a flu attack, but found Ferrari starting in central defense and polishing a high-frequency midfield trio made up of Frattesi, Henrique and Traorè. In attack there is always the ex Pinamonti to act as a buoy for Defrel and Ceide. However, the Nerazzurri set the pace straight away, appearing ready, snappy, with clear ideas for a restart. Lukaku, who has grown in condition, goes close to scoring after a great action: a series of triangles leads to Skriniar’s cross, but the Belgian turn is out. Signal, not the only one, of a physical presence of Big Rom in the match, both with his back to goal and in the search for depth. In addition, the long wave of Mkhitaryan continues, accelerating Simone’s game: first he enters the area from the left and extends his assist too much in the middle for Lukaku, then he goes on his own but his 1-0 goal is canceled for a slight offside

Second half

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In the second half, the friendly loses one of the players most on the ball because Micki the Armenian is forced out as a precaution: due to a slight back pain after 4′, it’s better not to risk it since the super challenge for the Scudetto is coming. It was Barella who ignited the match, in top form, both in acrobatic recoveries behind and in creating an attack, also because Inter continued to occupy the space and move the ball with almost all the players on the pitch. It is no coincidence that the 1-0 goal comes from one of the many left-handed raids by Bastoni, who demonstrates great dribbling skills, before serving Dzeko, cold left-handed on Pegolo. Both Mapei and Sassuolo must like the Bosnian a lot, who had already changed the championship match played and much more complex for the Nerazzurri. In general, since the beginning of the retreat, Edin has shown his usual reliability and, also for this reason, net of Lautaro’s conditions, his anti-Naples presence could be a disorienting card. Also because the agreement with Lukaku promises well and if the Belgian does not reply Reggio Calabria’s goal also in Reggio Emilia it is only due to a bit of bad luck: after a miracle by Pegolo on Gagliardini, his shot with a sure shot is saved on the line from Tressoldi. Another good news for Inzaghi is the return to the field of Dumfries, who entered the whirlwind of changes in the middle of the second half: the Dutchman hasn’t lost his international reputation and this is also a good sign. The tucu Correa, on the other hand, came on for Dzeko, finished the match by taking advantage of the wide spaces in the open field: he didn’t score, but he too will serve.