Lukaku Leads Inter To Top Spot With 71 Points

Romelu Lukaku (Twitter @inter_en)

JAKARTA - Romelu Lukaku led Inter Milan to a 2-1 defeat by Sassuolo in the Italian League's 28th week of postponement at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, Wednesday local time.

The Belgian star scored inter's opening goal and then sent an assist for Lautaro Martinez's goal, while Sassuolo could only retaliate through Hamed Traore in the 85th minute.

This victory further solidified Inter's position at the top of the standings with 71 points or an 11-point lead over nearest rivals AC Milan so antonio Conte's team are closer to winning the scudetto.

Sassuolo ( 40) who has three games in a row did not feel the victory, did not move from ninth, antara notes from the official website of the Italian League.

The provider and the goalscorer 🤗#InterSassuolo 1⃣-0⃣#FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/Os9N7nYI9k

— Inter (@Inter_en) 7 April 2021

The game was not even 10 minutes old when Lukaku opened Inter's lead with a sharp header from a pass from fellow former Manchester United player Ashley Young.

Despite the superiority, Inter did not have much possession throughout the first half and Sassuolo almost controlled 75 per cent of them.

But the possession could not be much converted by sassuolo's players, including when Jeremie Boga received a through ball inside the Inter penalty box in the 41st minute but the finish was countered by the feet of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.

Three minutes later Young wasted a chance to double the lead when he received a pull pass in the middle of the box and his finishing shot bounced off the post to give Inter a 1-0 lead at half-time.

Inter entered the second half, still in a relatively passive game but instead managed to double the lead in the 67th minute through Martinez's goal.

Starting from giacomo Raspadori's fall in the Inter box which was ignored by referee Massimiliano Irrati, the hosts launched a counterattack that ended with Lukaku's pass and Martinez subduing goalkeeper Andrea Consigli when it was already facing one-on-one.

Sassuolo's dominance only came to fruition in the 85th minute, which was not separated from a lucky incident when a sweep of Inter players put the ball in front of Traore who grabbed the ball into the far corner of the post to make it 1-2.

However, Sassuolo instead lost their grip on the game and were forced to thwart the chances of Alexis Sanchez and Lukaku in the last minute. Inter still won 2-1 when the whistle blew.

Inter next host Cagliari at Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday, 11 April, the day before Sassuolo travel to Benevento.

TEN. On. THE. Bounce. 😍#InterSassuolo 2⃣-1⃣#FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/nrAg6qM0xc

— Inter (@Inter_en) 7 April 2021