Hakan Çalhanoğlu converted early and Inter held on, beating Cagliari 1-0 at Unipol Domus to make it two wins from two in Serie A, according to flashscore.com. The Turkish midfielder put the champions ahead in the ninth minute, assisted by Nicolò Barella, and Cristian Chivu’s side spent much of the second half managing a game they never closed out. With 30 shots to Cagliari’s zero on target, the scoreline flattered the hosts.
Key Moments
- 9′, Çalhanoğlu opens the scoring, finishing from a Nicolò Barella pass to give Inter an early lead.
- 14′, Manuel Akanji picks up a yellow card for holding, a booking that would prompt his early exit later in the game.
- 56′, Alessandro Deiola is cautioned for holding as Cagliari grow frustrated in their attempts to find an equalizer.
- 57′, Cagliari make three substitutions at once, sending on Alieu Fadera, Raphael Kofler and Kevin Carlos Omoruyi to inject pace and energy.
- 65′, Inter respond with three changes of their own: Marcus Thuram, Piotr Zielinski and Curtis Jones replace Pio Esposito, Çalhanoğlu and Petar Sucic.
- 68′, Akanji comes off, replaced by John Stones, likely as a precautionary measure given his earlier booking.
Tactical Breakdown
Inter’s 3-5-2 dominated from the first whistle. Chivu’s side held 65 percent possession, completed 91 percent of their passes and racked up 30 shots, 24 of them from inside the box. An xG of 3.80 against Cagliari’s 0.45 tells the real story: this was a performance of total territorial control, even if the finishing was wasteful. Federico Dimarco and Luís Henrique operated as aggressive wing-backs who pinned Cagliari’s 4-2-3-1 deep, while Barella dictated tempo from the middle.
The triple substitution at the 65th minute changed Inter’s texture rather than their intent. Thuram offered a physical outlet in place of Pio Esposito, and Zielinski brought composure to replace Çalhanoğlu, who had done his job. Chivu acknowledged the nerves afterward, quoted by gazzetta.it as saying ‘we panicked; if you don’t kill it off…’ The coach was equally candid about the contributions of John Stones and Curtis Jones off the bench, calling pressure situations ‘bread and butter’ for both players.
Cagliari’s best hope was in transition and set pieces: they won eight corners and attempted 10 shots, but not a single one troubled goalkeeper Josep Martinez. Elia Caprile at the other end made five saves to keep the deficit respectable. The home side’s triple change at the hour mark shifted the balance slightly, with the Unipol Domus crowd growing louder, but Inter’s defensive structure, anchored by Alessandro Bastoni and Benjamin Pavard, held without serious alarm.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
Inter sit top of Serie A with a maximum six points from two games, extending what fotmob.com described as the champions’ perfect start to the season. Cagliari, who drop to 13th, will be encouraged by the fight they showed in the second half but must sharpen their attacking output after failing to register a single shot on target. For Chivu’s Inter, the result is everything even if the performance leaves room for concern about finishing a game off.
Cagliari
Inter
Hakan Calhanoglu
Nicolò Barella