MILAN – It was El Toro’s night. Inter, who were helped on their way to victory by an excellent debut from Lautaro Martinez, defeated Cagliari thanks to an excellent header by the number ten and a goal by Matteo Politano. The Nerazzurri therefore made it nine points in seven days, and it was a deserved victory for Luciano Spalletti’s team, who showed their ability to cope under pressure.
With Inter having an important game on Wednesday in Eindhoven, Luciano Spalletti made a number of changes for the match, with six players starting who didn’t start against Fiorentina five days ago at San Siro. One of these players was Borja Valero, who made his first start of the season in the Inter team. The Inter fans got to see Lautaro Martinez in action immediately as he headed home Dalbert’s perfect cross after 13 minutes to give Inter the lead, with Cragno having no chance in the Cagliari goal. After being given a lift by the goal, Inter went in search for a second, but Politano wasn’t precise enough with two efforts on goal. Lautaro was lighting up the Meazza, but Candreva wasn’t quite able to finish off a quick counterattack led by El Toro. In the final stages of the first half, Cagliari came to life: Barella played a great ball over the top to Sau, whose effort from a tight angle went over the bar. Inter responded with a counter-attack orchestrated by an extraordinary bicycle kick from Lautaro Martinez, with the move eventually ending with a shot by Politano, but Inter weren’t able to find the back of the net. The teams, therefore, went into the break with Inter leading 1-0. Despite controlling the game well, the Nerazzurri needed to be a bit more clinical in the opposition’s penalty area.
The story was the same in the second half as Cagliari remained in the match without creating a huge amount. A Borja Valero long shot almost caught Cragno out in the 50th minute but he put it behind for a corner. The best chance came on the break. After an hour, Lautaro picked out Nainggolan who flicked it on first time for Candreva who was alone in front of Cragno but the goalkeeper made the save. Only another great stop from Cragno was able to prevent Politano from scoring the second as the Cagliari goalkeeper tipped it out for a corner. Cagliari thought they equalised in the 72nd minute from a corner but Dessena clearly scored with his arm and the goal was disallowed after a VAR check. The Nerazzurri took some chances as Cagliari pushed forward and won a few dangerous corners. In the 80th minute, a genius pass from Lautaro sent Politano through for a one-on-one before the winger tried to give it back to the Argentine but he couldn’t control it and the danger fizzled out. Politano tried his luck again from range but the Sardinian side’s goalkeeper was ready for it. His persistence paid off however in the 89th minute when a stunning and instinctive first-time strike went in via the inside of the post to kill the match.
Now, Inter can prepare in the ideal manner for the trip to Eindhoven with the momentum of winning three straight in the league.
#ForzaInter!
INTER 2-0 CAGLIARI
Goals: 13' Martinez, 89' Politano
INTER: 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 6 De Vrij, 23 Miranda, 29 Dalbert; 5 Gagliardini (57' 77 Brozovic), 20 Borja Valero (83' 8 Vecino); 16 Politano, 14 Nainggolan, 87 Candreva (70' 44 Perisic) ; 10 Lautaro
Bench: 27 Padelli, 9 Icardi, 11 Keita, 13 Ranocchia, 15 Joao Mario, 18 Asamoah, 37 Skriniar
Coach: Luciano Spalletti
CAGLIARI: 28 Cragno; 33 Srna, 15 Klavan (46' 19 Pisacane), 3 Andreolli, 24 Faragò; 4 Dessena, 6 Bradaric (60' 10 Joao Pedro), 18 Barella; 21 Ionita; 25 Sau (71' 17 Farias), 30 Pavoletti
Bench: 1 Rafael, 12 Daga, 16 Aresti, 2 Pajac, 8 Cigarini, 9 Cerri, 20 Padoin, 29 Castro, 56 Romagna
Coach: Rolando Maran
Bookings: 44' Andreolli (C), 49' Bradaric (C), 56' Pisacane (C), 73' Dessena (C), 86' Dalbert (I)
Referee: Massa
Assistants: Liberti, Di Iorio
Fourth Official: Abbattista
VAR Operators: Chiffi, Lo Cicero
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