Milan will go into the derby with Inter having suffered another early blip in the Scudetto race after being held to a 0-0 draw at Sassuolo.

The defending Serie A champions got back to winning ways at the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Bologna, having previously been held by Atalanta.

But they were not at their best on Tuesday in a game they would have lost had Mike Maignan not saved a first-half penalty from Domenico Berardi – the Italy international who later came off with a seemingly concerning injury.

It means Milan are still unbeaten with two wins and two draws from four games, but the stalemate offered Inter – along with the likes of Roma, Napoli and Lazio – the chance to leapfrog the Rossoneri in this round of midweek fixtures.

Milan unsurprisingly made the early running and went close in the 16th minute when Brahim Diaz dragged wide from the edge of the area.

Yet Sassuolo were gifted a chance to take the lead when Giorgos Kyriakopoulos was tripped just inside the box by Alexis Saelemaekers in the 21st minute.

However, Berardi's penalty lacked direction and Maignan was equal to it, his save providing a huge let-off for the champions.

Berardi's day got worse when he had to be helped off seven minutes into the second half and was clearly emotional in the dugout after coming off. 

Kristian Thorstvedt drew a comfortable save from Maignan as the hosts initially enjoyed the better of the second period.

Chances at either end were few and far between thereafter, though, Milan hitting the target just twice in an underwhelming display that was capped by Alessandro Florenzi limping down the tunnel in injury time.