Nothing less than a second consecutive Scudetto will be expected from Cristian Chivu and his men this season, and they looked to have picked up right where they left off in a 4-1 opening-day victory over Monza.
Cagliari didn’t seem to have a plan to stop Inter, who dominated possession in the opening stages and took an early lead in the first 10 minutes. Nicolo Barella squared it to the edge of the area where Hakan Calhanoglu surprised Elia Caprile by opening up his body and rolling a precise shot into the bottom-right corner.
The hosts were powerless to create any chances of their own as Inter came forward in droves, though the Nerazzurri’s finishing left a lot to be desired for the remainder of the half.
Caprile was no doubt a factor, showing great reactions to push Federico Dimarco’s powerful volley over the top, though he was also caught out of his area and had to rely on Juan Rodriguez to retreat and stop Barella’s effort from crossing the line.
Pio Esposito was next to strike on target, but Caprile kept the young striker from finding the net here for a second season in a row.
Despite Caprile again needing to be on form to deny Esposito from close range, there was a marked improvement in Cagliari after the break as they finally got some shots away.
Fabio Pisacane’s substitutions just before the hour mark made a clear difference, too, with Josep Martinez intervening at full stretch to stop Alieu Fadera from finding Kevin Carlos with a teasing delivery.
Subsequent misses from Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni and Marcus Thuram – all set up by Dimarco – started to ring alarm bells in the Inter camp, and set up an interesting final 10 minutes.
The Sardinians came alive, with Adam Obert entering the area to fire over, before Michel Ndary Adopo’s shot was somehow headed away by Yann Bisseck, meaning the home side failed to salvage an unlikely point.
With this their 10th win in 11 top-flight meetings with Cagliari, this won’t be the biggest test of Inter’s credentials, but winning their opening two league fixtures for the first time in three seasons is certainly a good sign for Chivu and company.
Likewise, Cagliari’s term will not be defined by this result, though they will hope to avoid equalling their club record for consecutive defeats – currently eight against Juventus – against a single Serie A opponent when they visit Inter at the San Siro in February.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)