Simone Inzaghi admits "it hurts to lose" following Inter's surprise 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Sassuolo.

The newly crowned Scudetto winners suffered only their second loss of the season in Serie A, as Armand Lauriente's first-half goal was enough to give the 19th-place hosts victory at Mapei Stadium.

Sassuolo, who boosted their survival hopes, subsequently completed the league double over the Nerazzurri, having also prevailed 2-1 at San Siro in September.

Meanwhile, Inter were beaten by a team in the bottom two for the first time since November 2014, with Inzaghi urging his players not to be distracted by their title triumph.

"We started sluggish and didn’t have the right approach to the game," he told Sky Sports Italia. "I'm sorry for the defeat, but credit must be given to Sassuolo for a performance of great effort and sacrifice.

"It's right to enjoy [our Scudetto victory], but there are still three games to go and we have to focus. It hurts to lose, and it should hurt."

After guiding Inter to their 20th Serie A crown, Inzaghi is hopeful he can keep the majority of his squad intact ahead of next season.

However, the Nerazzurri boss did emphasise the club's need to strengthen before launching their Scudetto defence.

"I already told the club that I want to go into next season with all the players I had this term, not losing a single one," he said. "Considering all the games we need to play and the length of the season, we do need a bigger squad."

Inter suffered only their second defeat in Serie A this season as a first-half goal by Armand Lauriente gave relegation-threatened Sassuolo a crucial 1-0 victory.

Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season, as the only team to beat Inter in the league, having secured a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September.

The result was a big boost in Sassuolo's battle against relegation, as they sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points between them and Cagliari in 14th place.

Lauriente got the only goal of the match after 20 minutes when Josh Doig managed to wrestle the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and pulled it back, with Sassuolo's matchwinner on hand to slot into the net from close range.

Data Debrief: Long time coming

This was the first time Inter have lost a league match against a team in the bottom two of the standings since way back in November 2014. On that occasion, they went down 2-0 to Parma.

Lauriente, meanwhile, has scored four Serie A goals since the beginning of April, a joint-record in the period in the top-flight (level with Hakan Calhanoglu).

AC Milan needed a late equaliser from substitute Noah Okafor to rescue a point at the end of a stunning 3-3 draw away at Sassuolo, but saw their faint hopes of winning the Serie A title all but extinguished.

Okafor struck in the 84th minute, turning the ball home from a corner barely three minutes after being summoned from the bench by Stefano Pioli, as Milan salvaged a point from a game that had looked beyond them when the hosts raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

Andrea Pinamonti and Armand Lauriente hit the visitors with a rapid-fire double as they sought to breathe momentum into their hopes of avoiding the drop.

A win here would have dragged them out of the bottom three, but Milan hit back quickly with Rafael Leao scoring after 20 minutes to jangle Sassuolo’s nerves.

Lauriente hit his second after the break to make it 3-1, but facing disaster Pioli’s side summoned the necessary resolve to rescue a draw, first Luka Jovic made it 3-2 just before the hour mark, then Okafor struck late to cap a dramatic encounter.

Sassuolo were good value for their early lead, given to them when Pinamonti finished with aplomb into the bottom corner with the game just four minutes old, his 10th of the season for the strugglers who remained second from bottom of the table.

And it was 2-0 six minutes later when Lauriente netted his first of the afternoon, bursting through the visiting defence and scoring to stun Milan.

The Rossoneri were already facing the possibility of seeing Inter seal the title when the two sides meet at San Siro later in April, and the prospect of seeing their city rivals crowned champions was all but rubber stamped here.

They were at least spared the ignominy of a sixth league defeat of the season, Leao starting the comeback when he slotted past goalkeeper Andrea Consigli after 20 minutes.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was fortunate not to concede a penalty shortly after half-time, but Sassuolo soon had their two-goal lead again, Lauriente turning the ball home to spark joyous scenes amongst home fans.

It would have been a famous win, one that would have been a huge boost to their hopes of securing a 12th consecutive Serie A season, but Milan would not lie down, Jovic giving them hope with a goal after 59 minutes.

Okafor came off the bench to ensure late drama and spare his team’s blushes, but it is unlikely to alter the destination of the title.

Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus cut the gap behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan to two points with a 3-0 win at home to Sassuolo.

The Serbian netted his first after 15 minutes when he curled a superb effort into the top corner from 25 yards beyond goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.

And it was 2-0 minutes before half-time, Vlahovic sending a free-kick in off the crossbar as Max Allegri’s team made light work of dispatching 14th-place Sassuolo.

It takes the 23-year-old’s tally to nine goals this season and three in his last two league games, after he netted a stoppage-time winner against bottom side Salernitana in the previous game.

Substitute Federico Chiesa added a third in the closing minutes as Juve stretched their winning run in the league to four games.

Domenico Berardi had a chance to cut the arrears in the second half but failed to beat Wojciech Szczesny, as the visitors otherwise put up little resistance after falling two behind.

It was an 11th victory for Juve in their last 13 games and means they remain within striking distance of Inter in the title race.

The two are due to meet at San Siro on February 4, but before that Juve must navigate games against Lecce and Empoli to ensure they keep on Inter’s coat tails ahead of the showdown in Milan.

AC Milan ended the year with a much-needed win as they edged past Sassuolo 1-0 at San Siro.

Christian Pulisic scored the only goal in the second half to keep Milan just about in touch with Serie A’s top two.

The Rossoneri went into the contest having picked up only one victory from their previous three league matches, leaving them 12 points behind city rivals and table toppers Inter.

Sassuolo are the only team to have beaten Inter in the league this season but they have been in poor form, having won just one of their previous 11 matches and none of the last four.

Milan had Luka Jovic available after he picked up an ankle injury against Salernitana last time out, and the Serbian was named among the substitutes.

The hosts had the ball in the back of the net after only six minutes when Ismael Bennacer slotted it in but an obvious offside in the build-up meant it was quickly chalked off.

Tijjani Reijnders was the next to threaten with a shot well wide, while Bennacer did well to create a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box but sent his effort just past the near post.

Milan thought they had found the breakthrough 31 minutes in when Rafael Leao drilled the ball into the top corner but he was again denied by an offside flag having mistimed his run.

Sassuolo looked lively on the break and two minutes later Domenico Berardi forced Mike Maignan into the first real save of the match with a long-range effort that was tipped over the bar.

The visitors have leaked goals too readily this season but they would have been happy with their first-half display, and Milan were limited to brief glimpses in the early stages of the second half as well.

However, with 59 minutes gone, Pulisic tucked away the opener, the American timing his run perfectly to meet Bennacer’s pass into the box.

Ruan Tressoldi desperately tried to intercept but could not divert the ball away from Pulisic, and he beat Andrea Consigli in the Sassuolo net.

Armand Lauriente tried to get the visitors back on level terms but he was stretching as he hit his shot from the edge of the box and it was easily stopped by Maignan.

Milan boss Stefano Pioli sent on 18-year-old Kevin Zeroli for his senior debut, and they almost grabbed a second in the 78th minute but Alessandro Florenzi’s well-struck volley dipped just over the bar.

Substitute Samuel Chukweze had the final chance but his search for a first Serie A goal goes on after shooting narrowly wide of the far post.

AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli insists his side’s match against Sassuolo is not do-or-die, but demanded a return to winning ways in Serie A.

The Rossoneri have picked up just one victory from their last three league appearances to slip 11 points behind rivals Inter Milan at the summit of the table.

But speaking ahead of Milan’s home clash against Sassuolo on Saturday, Pioli said: “We need a win and I expect a convincing performance.

“Tomorrow’s game isn’t about me, nor is it do or die, and there’s still a long way to go in the season.

“We’ve studied Sassuolo. They are a side that builds from the back and creates chances. But they also concede a lot, too, so we’ll have to take advantage of their frailties, especially in defence.”

Sassuolo sit in 15th, just three points above the relegation zone, and head to the San Siro with only one point from a possible 12.

But Pioli will be aware that they have claimed high-profile victims in Juventus and Inter so far this season.

He continued: “The players have no fear and they want to overcome difficulties. We must always give our all.

“We have made some mistakes so far that we’ve paid for. We can’t find that consistency, even within the same game. But we are united and continuously looking to get better. We’re creating a lot, but we need to be more clinical and concede less.”

Pioli will hope to have Luka Jovic available. The former Real Madrid and Fiorentina forward, who has scored three times in his previous three league matches, sustained an ankle injury in his side’s 2-2 draw against Salernitana last Friday.

However, he trained with his team-mates this week and could feature.

Olivier Giroud, leading scorer for AC Milan in 2023, is set to lead the line, but the Frenchman has netted just three league goals at the San Siro this season.

Domenico Berardi fired a stunning winner as Sassuolo hit back to halt Inter Milan’s 100 per cent start to the Serie A season with a 2-1 win at San Siro.

Italy forward Berardi crashed home a swerving shot from outside the penalty area after Nedim Bajrami’s second-half equaliser had cancelled out Denzel Dumfries’ opener for Inter.

Simone Inzaghi’s side had won all of their opening five league matches to top the table, but Sassuolo produced a second upset in the space of four days after beating Juventus 4-2 at home on Saturday.

Sassuolo made an encouraging start, enjoying an equal share of possession as neither side created a clear scoring chance in the first 30 minutes.

Inter then sparked into life when Nicolo Barella sent Dumfries sprinting down the right, with the latter’s excellent cross headed just over by Marcus Thuram.

Thuram then missed when well placed from another ball in from Dumfries before Jeremy Toljan provided Sassuolo’s best first-half chance as his fierce angled effort was well saved by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Sommer was alert again to keep out Bajrami’s low shot before Inter broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.

Dumfries cut inside on the right edge of the penalty area and arrowed a low finish into the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.

Martin Erlic headed a golden chance wide for Sassuolo from Berardi’s brilliant cross, but the visitors drew level in the 54th minute.

Berardi was again the provider as his slide-rule pass on the right side of the area was hammered home by Bajrami, with Sommer furious he had allowed the ball to beat him at the near post.

It got worse for Inter soon after. Berardi was allowed to cut inside from the right on to his left foot and he unleashed a brilliant, dipping shot that nestled inside Sommer’s far post.

Inter boss Inzaghi sent on substitutes Carlos Augusto, Stefan de Vrij and Davide Frattesi soon after and the latter forced visiting goalkeeper Andrea Consigli into a low save.

Sassuolo dealt comfortably with Inter’s bid to get back on terms and Armand Lauriente sliced his chance to extend the visitors’ lead wide in the 85th minute.

Lauriente then saw a better effort that would have settled it saved by Sommer before Francesco Acerbi fired straight at Consigli and Lautaro Martinez shot narrowly wide in stoppage time.

Juventus missed the chance to go top of Serie A after they slumped to a 4-2 defeat at Sassuolo.

The Bianconeri had claimed 10 points from an unbeaten start, but came unstuck at the Mapei Stadium as Sassuolo battled to a second league win.

After Juve midfielder Adrien Rabiot had fired an early shot wide, Sassuolo took the lead in the 12th minute when Armand Lauriente’s dipping shot squirmed past Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny.

The visitors, though, hit back to level within 10 minutes.

Federico Chiesa sent over a deep cross from the left towards the far post where Weston McKennie was sliding in and Sassuolo defender Matias Vina got the final touch as the ball dropped into the net.

Manuel Locatelli drilled a low shot just wide before at the other end, Szczesny made amends for his early error with a fine one-handed save from Ruan Tressoldi’s downward header.

The Polish keeper, though, could do little to prevent Domenico Berardi from putting Sassuolo back in front five minutes before half-time.

Matheus Henrique rolled the ball across the edge of the penalty area and Berardi curled a fine left-foot strike into the corner to mark his 300th Serie A appearance with a fine goal.

There were penalty appeals from the visitors when Federico Gatti’s cross struck Ruan Tressoldi on the arm, but the referee’s decision not to award a spot-kick was backed up following a VAR review.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri made two changes for the start of the second half as Nicolo Fagioli and Samuel Iling-Junior replaced Fabio Miretti and Filip Kostic.

England Under-21 international Iling-Junior looked to inject fresh life into the Juve attack, darting down the left before a deep cross dropped just past the far post.

Sassuolo remained a threat on the counter, and Berardi slid Lauriente into the penalty area, but his wild shot flew over.

At the other end, Dusan Vlahovic scuffed just wide of the far post before Juve eventually equalised again with 12 minutes left.

Iling-Junior flicked down a deep cross at the back post and Fagioli cushioned it into the path of Chiesa, whose deflected strike flew in.

However, Sassuolo were soon back in front in the 82nd minute. Lauriente’s fierce drive was punched out by Szczesny, and Andrea Pinamonti nodded in the rebound.

Sassuolo keeper Alessio Cragno kept out Chiesa’s angled shot at the near post before substitute Gregoire Defrel almost scored another for the hosts on the break when his effort cannoned back off the crossbar.

The fourth goal did arrive in bizarre fashion during stoppage time when Gatti, under pressure from Henrique, knocked the ball back into an empty net after receiving a quick free-kick from Szczesny, who was left stranded out near the corner flag.

Inter's great week continued as Romelu Lukaku scored a brilliant double in a 4-2 win over Sassuolo at San Siro on Saturday.

With one foot in the Champions League final after Wednesday's 2-0 first-leg victory over city rivals Milan, Inter took advantage of the Rossoneri losing at Spezia to put even more space between the two sides in Serie A.

Lukaku put the hosts ahead when he arrowed in from distance before Ruan put through his own net, while Lautaro Martinez scored via a deflection as the Nerazzurri earned a seventh straight win in all competitions.

Matheus Henrique and Davide Frattesi pulled goals back for the mid-table visitors, but Lukaku smashed in a fourth for Simone Inzaghi's men late on as they move up to third and crucially five points above Milan in fifth, putting them in the driver's seat to seal Champions League qualification with three games to play.

A VAR review came to Inter's rescue early on, ruling Armand Lauriente offside after his cross was poked home at the back post by Domenico Berardi.

The hosts had a goal of their own ruled out minutes later, Andrea Consigli unable to keep out Joaquin Correa's effort only for the offside flag to curtail the celebrations.

Henrique and Frattesi spurned golden opportunities to put the visitors ahead, and they were made to pay for those misses as Lukaku's long-range drive flew into the top corner four minutes before half-time.

Martinez came on at the break as Inter pressed to double their lead, and they would do exactly that when Ruan sliced Raoul Bellanova's cross-shot into his own net.

The hosts received another huge slice of luck to make it 3-0 before the hour mark, Martinez seeing his effort hit the beleaguered Ruan and completely wrong-foot Consigli before nestling in.

Sassuolo narrowed the deficit through late headers by Henrique and Frattesi but Lukaku would seal the win when he coolly fired past Consigli from Marcelo Brozovic's pass to make the points safe.

Massimiliano Allegri rued Juventus only sparking into life after suffering a "slap in the face" during their 1-0 loss at Sassuolo.

Juve went down to Gregoire Defrel's fine finish on Sunday, suffering a second straight Serie A defeat and their third loss in four away games in the league.

The defeat leaves Juve – who will defend a 1-0 lead against Sporting CP in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday – sitting in seventh place and nine points behind Milan in the final Champions League spot.

Having hardly threatened prior to going behind, Juve did spark into life in the closing stages. Andrea Consigli saved from Adrien Rabiot's excellent header, while Angel Di Maria blazed over from a great chance.

But it was not enough to ease Allegri's frustration, with the Juventus coach telling DAZN: "We did not play well for an hour, then reacted after the slap in the face of the goal.

"It was an important game for the table, but it was a second consecutive defeat in the league.

"We've got to get back to our feet, work on what we got wrong and take a different approach to the matches. All we can do is stay quiet, work hard and drag out the last drops of energy to get past Sporting.

"I told the players this was an important step. Instead, we dropped points."

Paul Pogba came on for just his fourth appearance of the season, all of which have come from the bench since his return from a calf injury that kept him out for over six months.

Allegri, though, said the France midfielder is still well behind where Juve hoped he would be.

"There are players like Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba who are getting back into shape, while others have played a lot more and are tired," Allegri added.

"I saw improvements from Pogba, but he's still a long way behind schedule and not in condition to play 90 minutes.

"We'll try to slowly get him up to 30 minutes and see how he responds."

Juventus suffered a second successive Serie A defeat as Gregoire Defrel's fine finish saw Sassuolo win 1-0 on Sunday.

Three days on from beating Sporting CP 1-0 in the Europa League, Juve turned in a tired display at Mapei Stadium, as Sassuolo dented the Bianconeri's Champions League qualification hopes.

Defrel's 64th-minute goal had been coming, with Massimiliano Allegri's team having lived a charmed life at the back while offering little going forward.

Juve found some spark late on, with Adrien Rabiot denied by Andrea Consigli and Angel Di Maria squandering a golden chance, but Sassuolo held firm to beat Juve at home in the league for the first time since October 2015.

Sassuolo carved out the only chance of a muted first half, but Nedim Bajrami failed to keep his shot down from a tight angle.

Danilo should have done better with a near-post header shortly after the restart, though Juve needed stand-in goalkeeper Mattia Perin to thwart Sassuolo soon after.

Having tipped a curling Maxime Lopez shot wide, Perin pulled off a fantastic save from Defrel's close-range header.

Perin could only stand and watch as Federico Gatti headed against the woodwork just after the hour, Juve coming away unscathed after the defender's awful attempt at a clearance.

Yet the pressure eventually told – Defrel arrowing in a brilliant finish on the spin after Nicolo Fagioli's dreadful clearance fell his way.

Juve finally sparked into life, with Rabiot's header forcing Consigli into a superb save before substitute Di Maria blazed over as the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless, with Paul Pogba's late cameo from the bench unable to inspire an equaliser.

Massimiliano Allegri confirmed Paul Pogba is "not ready to play the whole game" when Juventus travel to Sassuolo in Serie A on Sunday.

Pogba has endured a torrid time since re-joining the Bianconeri from Manchester United last year due to a succession of injury setbacks, while he also missed the World Cup in Qatar.

A five-minute cameo in the midweek Europa League victory over Sporting CP represented only his third appearance of the campaign – all of which have come as a substitute.

Allegri feels Juve's clash with Sassuolo is too soon for Pogba to be thrown in from the start, but the head coach is confident the 30-year-old can still significantly impact the remainder of their campaign.

"Pogba is training well. Yesterday, he did 20 minutes of good training with the ball. Today, we see how he is," Allegri told reporters.

"At the moment, he is not ready to play the whole game, but he can only improve, and I think he will be able to show us his quality – if not for the whole game, for the minutes in which he will play from here to the end of the championship."

Allegri also confirmed Wojciech Szczesny will be rested for the trip to Mapei Stadium.

The Poland international was substituted during the first half of the win over Sporting after suffering chest pains, though he was subsequently checked and given the all-clear by the medical team.

Mattia Perin, who produced an impressive display from the bench, is likely to deputise.

"Today, I will talk to [Szczesny]," Allegri added. "If he is serene and calm, he can come with us and stay on the bench, so at least he will have a day of recovery and rest.

"Perin is in excellent condition and has become an important goalkeeper. Compared to when he arrived at Juventus, he has made progress and important improvements.

"He is one of the best goalkeepers there are for reliability and presence in the game."

Jose Mourinho must sit out the Rome derby after an appeal against his Serie A two-match touchline ban was rejected.

The Roma head coach will be a spectator for this Sunday's game against Sassuolo and the tussle with city rivals Lazio seven days later.

His ban was temporarily suspended last week, allowing him to take charge of a game against Juventus, but it now takes immediate effect.

The 60-year-old was sent off for the third time this season just two minutes into the second half of Roma's 2-1 loss at lowly Cremonese on Tuesday, February 28.

Mourinho clashed with fourth official Marco Serra and was sent to the stands, before continuing to argue his case when entering the officials' dressing room after the match.

The Italian Football Association (FIGC) announced a sports court of appeal rejected Roma's challenge to the ban, with Mourinho also fined €10,000 for his behaviour.

The FIGC statement said Mourinho's punishment was imposed "for vehemently and provocatively contesting a refereeing decision, reiterating such behaviour at the time of the expulsion and also for having, at the end of the match, entered, even if authorised, the referee's locker room and addressed to the fourth official seriously offensive expressions and inferences".

Former Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid boss Mourinho had defended his actions after the game, saying: "I'm emotional but not crazy. For the first time in my career a referee has spoken to me in an unjustifiable way. To have the reaction I had is because something happened."

His Roma side sit fourth in Serie A, ahead of last season's champions Milan on goal difference.

Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti allayed concerns about the condition of Victor Osimhen after the in-form striker appeared to limp off during Friday's win over Sassuolo.

The Nigeria star scored Napoli's second goal in the 2-0 victory at Mapei Stadium after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring.

Osimhen's goal saw him become the first Napoli player to score in seven successive Serie A games during the three-points-for-a-win era (1995-96).

He was taken off six minutes from time and seemed to be limping as he headed for the bench, sparking some concern from supporters with a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on the horizon.

But Spalletti appeared confident his star striker has not suffered any lasting damage and will be fit on Tuesday.

"We have evaluated Osimhen's condition, but it doesn't seem like it's anything out of the ordinary," Spalletti told DAZN after the game.

"He's just a little tired because he can't stop himself. It always seems like he has to do the last two metres, then he just starts running after everyone until he's recovered the ball, so two metres becomes another 200 metres.

"Doctors are investigating, but it doesn't seem like it's anything serious."

After an entertaining first half, the game was much tighter in the second period, seemingly owing to Napoli's ability to see things out in their own manner.

But there was an intensity to their play throughout that undoubtedly contributed to Sassuolo struggling to impose themselves, particularly when they might have been desperately chasing a late lifeline.

Spalletti's post-match interview was conducted by former Napoli and Juventus great Ciro Ferrara, who likened Napoli's urgency to that of Pep Guardiola's classic Barcelona side.

The Napoli coach felt the need to pump the brakes at that comparison.

"You have to go easy on the comparisons," Spalletti said. "Then it becomes a problem. We must stay calm, very calm.

"It's true that we put a lot of determination into winning the ball back. We have the strength to go and steal it from the opponent, and we did it well today.

"But, beyond that, compared to the last few games, today it seemed to me that we were superior to our previous performances, even in small things like dribbling and [game] management.

"We were quick and assertive when moving the ball around. We suffered a couple of times because Sassuolo are a great team, trained very well.

"You can't have supremacy for 90 minutes. However, the team put in a great performance. Even though we're living a great moment, nobody is giving up on the ball. It's a good feeling."

Friday's win moved Napoli 18 points clear at the summit, though Inter can reduce the deficit back to 15 with a victory over Udinese on Saturday.

Napoli's relentless charge to the Scudetto continued with a straightforward 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Friday, their key men at the fore yet again.

Victory at Mapei Stadium made it seven Serie A wins in a row since a 1-0 defeat to Inter in their first game back after the World Cup, extending the Partenopei's lead at the summit to 18 points.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put Napoli in front early on with a wonderful solo effort, before their other talisman, Victor Osimhen, made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark to become the club's first player to net in seven successive top-flight games in the three-points-for-a-win era.

Sassuolo somewhat contentiously had a goal chalked off late in the first half, but thereafter Napoli's game management was exceptional, with the only shame for the visitors coming late on when Giovanni Simeone had a goal disallowed for offside.

It took Napoli 12 minutes to take charge as Kvaratskhelia breezed through midfield and coolly slotted into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.

Armand Lauriente and Osimhen were both then denied by the post at either end, though the latter did not have to wait much longer to get his customary goal.

The Nigerian brilliantly held off two defenders before catching Andrea Consigli off guard with a ferocious effort hit early from a tight angle.

Sassuolo's Lauriente thought he had followed suit just before the break, only for his tap-in to be disallowed for an offside in the build-up.

Osimhen spurned a one-on-one opportunity early in the second half, and Andrea Pinamonti nodded agonisingly wide at the other end.

Substitute Simeone appeared to have added further gloss in stoppage time, yet VAR cut short his celebrations as Napoli had to settle for two.