Inter Milan are provisionally level on points with Serie A’s top-four teams after a workmanlike 2-0 success over Cagliari, which was sparked by Lautaro Martínez’s early strike – his 12th goal in a dozen matches against I Rossoblu.
When Hakan Calhanoglu led with his elbow in a mid-air challenge after just two minutes, it was immediately clear that the Nerazzuri were clearly in no mood for niceties - especially against a Cagliari side on a run of four successive wins across all competitions.
They aggressively hunted down every ball and made it almost impossible for the hosts to get out of their own half, so it was no surprise when Inter captain, Martinez, headed home from Alessandro Bastoni’s floated cross in the ninth minute.
In the search for a quick response, Cagliari’s Sebastiano Esposito messed up the delivery of a presentable free-kick, whilst his colleagues had continued difficulties in trying to dispossess opponents that were easing through the gears as the half wore on.
When they did get some extended possession, the advantage was quickly lost due in no small part to the sloppiness of Michael Folorunsho and Alessandro Deiola in midfield. Martínez and Marcus Thuram continued peppering the home goal, but Cagliari managed to keep themselves in the game going into half-time.
Some urgency from the hosts at the start of the second half was long overdue, and their attempts to disrupt Inter’s flow were initially successful.
Yet, the more incisive play still came from the visitors, and Calhanoglu’s bobbling right foot shot had Cagliari keeper Elia Caprile beaten, but spun back off the upright as Inter continued to press. Marcus Thuram’s goalbound effort shortly after was brilliantly saved by Caprile thanks to an outstretched hand, and that was the cue for a double substitution from the hosts.
Despite needing to chase the game, Cagliari’s wayward attempts summed up their night, though Folorunsho did see a late towering header come back off the woodwork.
As the match entered the latter stages, the hosts’ mental and physical tiredness was clear to see, but that was made a non-issue when Francesco Pio Esposito fired in his first Serie A goal to wrap up the points.
Orchestrated brilliantly by Henrikh Mkhitaryan all evening, tonight’s result marks just Inter’s fourth win in 11 away games, while they have now lost just once in their last 16 league head-to-heads against Cagliari (W13, D2, L1).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter Milan)
