Inter edged out relegation-bound Cagliari to extend their lead to 11 points at the top of the table.
Inter Milan stretched their unbeaten home run to 12 games after edging out Cagliari 1-0 at San Siro, with former Manchester United star Matteo Darmian providing the winning goal.
Despite resting Lautaro Martinez and Achraf Hakimi, the Nerazzurri were expected to dominate the game against the bottom dwellers Cagliari.
However, the visitors gave Inter a run for their money, being highly resistant for the larger parts of the game especially the goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who made a string of acrobatic saves and the best one was against Inter midfielder Christian Eriksen.
The substitution of Martinez and Hakimi changed the fortunes for Inter, with the latter setting up the breakthrough goal for former Man Utd star Darmian in the 77th minute. His second goal of the season turned out to be the winning strike as Antonio Conte’s side grabbed three points.
Statistics and Reactions – Inter vs Cagliari
Inter Milan, who are currently 11 points at the top, need 14 more points to get their hands at the Scudetto after almost a decade time.
Darmian, the only scorer of the game, offered his thoughts on the result while praising manager Conte.
“We were up against a good team today that defended well from the start. When you’re facing a team that closes the spaces, it’s always difficult to break the deadlock, but it’s a very important victory for our campaign.
“We all feel part of the group, we all feel important, and we know that we’re all going to be ready when called upon, as there’s still a long way to go before the end of the season.
“Everyone knows the coach is so passionate, he puts his heart and soul into it, and we are very happy with these fundamental three points.
“This win was an important sign on a psychological level to the chasing pack.”
Inter will be up against Napoli, who are currently 5th in the Serie A table.
I sprinted to go and hug the boys. I want to share in the joy with them and praise them for an immense effort this past week. The group knows that my staff and I are ready to fight for them and it’s right to share these emotions, showing affection even with a kiss! I was to repeat that there are fewer and fewer games left and each win is worth six points to so. AC Milan won yesterday and it was important for us to maintain our lead. It’s not easy to be under constant pressure but we’re getting used to it. It was the first time for a lot of them and I’m really satisfied with the progress that the boys are making. We’ve grown so much in two years in all aspects.
Antonio Conte on the celebration and emotions like for that hug and kissing Hakimi
Inter Milan 1-0 Cagliari 11 straight Serie A wins 14 games undefeated11 points clear of Milan Five more wins to clinch their first championship since 2010
Inter are the first side to have won each of the first 11 Serie A games played in the second half of a season, overtaking the record of AC Milan, 10 in 1989/90. Relentless.
Inter 1-0 Cagliari FT: Shots: 15-7 Shots on target: 7-1 Passing accuracy: 91%-85% Possession: 53%-47%
Conte is best manager we had in Serie A since he originally took Juve job over 10 years ago- to me now one has come close to making his impact and he also was very successful at Chelsea as well as the great run with Azzurri at Euro He’s an all time great Italian manager
Line-ups
Inter Milan
Samir Handanovic, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar, Stefano Sensi (Matías Vecino), Christian Eriksen (Roberto Gagliardini), Marcelo Brozovic, Ashley Young (Achraf Hakimi), Matteo Darmian (Danilo D’Ambrosio), Alexis Sánchez (Lautaro Martínez), Romelu Lukaku.
Substitutes
Andrea Ranocchia, Daniele Padelli, Ivan Perisic, Ionut Radu, Andrea Pinamonti.
Cagliari
Guglielmo Vicario, Diego Godín, Andrea Carboni, Daniele Rugani (Giovanni Simeone), Alfred Duncan (Kwadwo Asamoah), Razvan Marin, Radja Nainggolan, Nahitan Nández, Gabriele Zappa (Alberto Cerri), Leonardo Pavoletti (Gastón Pereiro), Joao Pedro.
Substitutes
Ragnar Klavan, Simone Aresti, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Arturo Calabresi, Alessandro Tripaldelli, Sebastian Walukiewicz, Giuseppe Ciocci.
