Inter secures Champions League qualifying spot with 4-2 win over Sassuolo

Rome (AFP)

Inter concluded its perfect week by approaching more than securing a qualifying position for the Champions League, by defeating its guest Sassuolo 4-2, in contrast to its neighbor and rival Milan, who suffered a setback in his quest to secure a seat in the continental competition by falling to host Spezia, which is threatened with relegation 0-2, in the competition. The thirty-fifth stage of the Italian Football League.
The two teams entered their matches in the wake of Inter’s 2-0 victory over Milan on Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, before the return match at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium (San Siro) on Tuesday, which will be on Inter’s “land”.
Inter raised its score to 66 points, equal with Juventus, who will seek to be the sole runner-up again when it hosts Cremonese today.
As for Milan, its score froze at 61 points in fifth place, four points away from fourth-placed Lazio, who tied with Lecce 2-2 on Friday at the opening stage.
At the Giuseppe Miazzi stadium, an early goal for Sassuolo by Domenico Berardi was canceled, after returning to the video assistant referee (VAR) due to offside in building the attack.
The Belgian Romelu Lukaku opened the score for Inter with a wonderful goal, after he received a ball outside the area with his back to the defense, he turned around and hit it hard into the net, which settled to the left of the goalkeeper (41).
Coach Simone Inzaghi’s team doubled its lead, when Raul Bellanova hit a powerful ball from the right side, Brazilian Rowan tried to push it away, but accidentally put it back into his team’s goal (55).
Argentine Lautaro Martinez scored the third goal with a left-footed shot from outside the area, which also rebounded from Rouen and changed course and settled in the goal (58), but the goal was awarded to the Argentine.
Sassuolo, who ranked thirteenth, imposed an interesting end to the match after narrowing the difference first through Brazilian Mateusz Henrique (63), and then through a header by Davide Frazzi after a cross from Brazilian Ruggiero (77).
But Lukaku settled matters with a left-footed shot inside the area, following a pass from Croatian Marcelo Brozovic (89).
In Spezia, the hosts scored the first goal a quarter of an hour before the end, when Frenchman Kelvan Amiens’ header bounced off the post to return to Poland’s Primislav Visniewski, who followed it into the net.
Salvatore Esposito eliminated Milan’s hopes of equalizing the score, when he doubled his team’s lead with a wonderful free kick and settled the ball in the top right corner (85).
Roma (58 points) will be able to catch up with Milan if it beats its host Bologna today, while Atalanta failed to tighten the screws by falling to its host Salernitana 1-0, to freeze its score at 58 points.
As for Spezia, he kept his hopes of staying among the adults, raising his score to 30 points in the eighteenth place, equal with the seventeenth Verona, who hosts Turin today, and two points away from the sixteenth Lecce.
Milan played the meeting with several absences, most notably the Algerian international midfielder Ismail Bennacer, after his club announced Thursday that he had to undergo knee surgery, as a result of an injury he suffered during the loss against Inter.
The Portuguese Rafael Leao also missed the match, similar to the Inter match, after he was injured last week during the victory over his guest Lazio in his right thigh.
Liao is Milan’s most powerful offensive weapon in the past two seasons, and led him to the Serie A league title last year.