Sassuolo coach Roberto De Zerbi was pleased with their 4-1 rout of Crotone.

However, he admits Sassuolo are still far from their best.

De Zerbi said, “There are some days when we're not sharp and everything isn't quite done well. We were sluggish physically, made a lot of mistakes and it was a step back from previous performances, and yet we won 4-1.

“That shows we have made a step forward in terms of mentality, because people talk about Scudetto contenders who know how to win ugly even when they are not at their best, so this is progress for a club like Sassuolo. I congratulated my players for that."

De Zerbi admits he planned to record and watch Manchester City's 1-1 draw at Leeds United on Saturday given his admiration for Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa.

He added: “Guardiola is more mechanised in his movements and has a specific approach, whereas Bielsa is more improvisational and allows his players to make the right decisions in those moments of the match.

“Bielsa also has extraordinary courage to go into the Premier League and keep going with that attitude, those movements and positions. It's a rare thing."