Mauro Icardi scored a hat-trick as Internazionale demolished 10- man Sassuolo, beating them 7-0 for the second time in the space of 12 months.
Just a week shy of the one year anniversary of their 7-0 win in Sassuolo, Inter did it again on home soil, with Icardi leading the way.
The Argentinian striker put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute as the Nerazzurri took control.
Mateo Kovacic doubled Inter’s lead in the 21st minute before Icardi struck again on the half-hour mark.
Dani Osvaldo made it 4-0 before the interval and Icardi added his third early in the second half.
Sassuolo striker Domenico Berardi was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute for an elbow on Inter’s Juan.
Osvaldo scored his second in the 72nd minute before substitute Fredy Guarin rounded off a wonderful afternoon for Inter two minutes later.
Inter, who were held to a goalless draw at Torino in their opener, stormed into an early lead and never looked back.
Icardi got behind Kovacic’s cross and struck a right-footed shot past Andrea Consigli for his team’s first goal of the season.
Inter continued to press forward and were rewarded when Kovacic surged inside the area and slipped a neat finish past Consigli.
The goals kept on coming for the hosts. There was little Consigli could do to save Icardi’s bullet strike from 25 yards.
Two minutes before the break, Osvaldo tapped in a rebound from a Dodo shot to make it 4-0.
Icardi was a constant threat and made no mistake in the 53rd minute when he found space to drill a long-range shot beyond Consigli and into the back of the net.
Sassuolo were reduced to 10 men when Berardi was handed his marching orders before the hour mark.
Osvaldo then punished the visitors when he tapped in Guarin’s clever pass past Consigli to double his account for the afternoon.
Shortly after, Guarin wrapped up the win with a clinical finish.
