Dimarco helps Inter to eight-point lead in Serie A

Dimarco, who took his season's tally to nine assists, also hit the woodwork and cleared a certain goal off the line as Inter moved eight points clear of city rivals AC Milan.

Centre-backs Yann Bisseck and Manuel Akanji both scored, alongside forwards Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez and Luis Henrique.

Dimarco was in the thick of things right from the first minute when he managed to get back to clear a shot from Canadian Ismael Kone off the line.

Ten minutes later, Inter took the lead when German centre-back Bisseck headed home Dimarco's 11th-minute corner at the back post.

Dimarco almost scored himself on 18 minutes but his free-kick cannoned back off the crossbar.

He turned provider again, crossing from the left for France forward Thuram to flick the ball home right-footed at the near post.

Sassuolo thought they had got back into the match four minutes from half-time when Norwegian midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt bundled home from close range, but that was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.

Inter killed off the game within 10 minutes of the restart as Argentina star Martinez fired home from close to the penalty spot after a long throw into the box.

That took the club captain to joint-third on Inter's all-time top scorers list.

And then Dimarco provided his third assist, again from a corner, for Swiss international Akanji to head home from six yards out.

Former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic was then dismissed for something he said to the referee, ending any hopes Sassuolo had of taking anything from the match.

Thuram hit the post and then Henrique scored the fifth with a smart control and finish a minute from time.

Earlier in the day, Lecce moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at home to Udinese, while Parma eased their relegation concerns with a 1-0 victory at Bologna thanks to Christian Ordonez's 95th-minute goal.