Inter Milan moved provisionally level on points with the Serie A top four after a disciplined 2-0 victory at Cagliari, set in motion by Lautaro Martínez’s ninth-minute header for his twelfth goal in twelve matches against the Sardinian side.
From the opening exchanges, Inter imposed themselves. Hakan Calhanoglu’s aerial challenge inside two minutes underlined the visitors’ competitive edge, and Cagliari, who arrived on a sequence of four straight wins in all competitions, struggled to play out as Inter pressed with conviction. The breakthrough came when Alessandro Bastoni delivered a measured cross and Martínez guided his header beyond Elia Caprile.
Cagliari looked for an immediate response but wasted a promising free kick through Sebastiano Esposito, and extended spells of possession were regularly surrendered by loose touches in midfield from Michael Folorunsho and Alessandro Deiola. Inter, driven by Martínez and Marcus Thuram, continued to fashion chances, yet the hosts clung on to reach the interval only one goal behind.
The home side injected some urgency after the restart and briefly disrupted Inter’s rhythm, but the clearer opportunities still fell to the visitors. Calhanoglu’s scuffed right-footed effort beat Caprile only to spin back off the upright, before the goalkeeper produced an excellent one-handed save to deny Thuram. A double change followed for Cagliari in search of a route back.
Wayward finishing summed up the hosts’ night, although Folorunsho rose to plant a late header against the woodwork. Inter then closed the match out when Francesco Pio Esposito, on as a substitute, swept in his first Serie A goal to seal the points, capping an evening orchestrated with authority by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The result is only Inter’s fourth win in eleven away league fixtures, but it extends their dominance in this head-to-head to a single defeat in the last sixteen Serie A meetings with Cagliari, with a record of thirteen wins, two draws and one loss.
