Inter Milan made it two wins from two at the start of their Serie A title defence as Hakan Calhanoglu’s early goal secured a 1-0 victory over Cagliari.
The result extended Inter’s winning run against Cagliari to seven consecutive top-flight matches. It was also their 10th victory in their past 11 Serie A meetings with the Sardinian club.
Cristian Chivu’s side are expected to challenge for a second successive Scudetto, and their opening results suggest they have carried their momentum into the new campaign. Inter began with a 4-1 victory over Monza before following it up with a controlled, if ultimately narrow, win in Cagliari.
The visitors quickly established their authority through possession and sustained pressure. They took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when Nicolo Barella found Calhanoglu on the edge of the penalty area. The Turkey international opened up his body before guiding a precise low finish into the bottom-right corner, giving Elia Caprile little chance.
Cagliari struggled to create opportunities as Inter repeatedly advanced in numbers. However, the visitors failed to make their dominance count with a second goal before half-time.
Caprile played a major part in keeping the margin at one, reacting sharply to tip Federico Dimarco’s powerful volley over the crossbar. On another occasion, the Cagliari goalkeeper was caught outside his penalty area, but Juan Rodriguez got back in time to prevent Barella’s effort from crossing the line.
Pio Esposito also tested Caprile, who denied the young striker from scoring against Cagliari for a second consecutive season. The goalkeeper later produced another important save at close range to keep Esposito out.
Cagliari improved considerably after the interval and began to find shooting opportunities. Fabio Pisacane’s substitutions shortly before the hour mark helped alter the flow of the game, with Josep Martinez forced to stretch fully to prevent Alieu Fadera from picking out Kevin Carlos with a dangerous cross.
Inter remained a threat, but their failure to add to the scoreline began to create concern. Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni and Marcus Thuram all missed chances after being set up by Dimarco, leaving the result in doubt during the closing stages.
Cagliari gained confidence as the final 10 minutes approached. Adam Obert broke into the penalty area but fired over, while Yann Bisseck produced a crucial defensive intervention to head away Michel Ndary Adopo’s effort.
Those moments represented Cagliari’s best chance of claiming an unlikely point, but Inter held on to maintain their perfect league record.
The victory may not have provided the strongest examination of Inter’s title credentials, yet winning their opening two league fixtures for the first time in three seasons will encourage Chivu and his players.
Cagliari’s season will not be judged by this defeat, although they will be keen to avoid matching their club record of eight successive losses against one Serie A opponent. That unwanted sequence came against Juventus. Cagliari are due to visit Inter at San Siro in February.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
