Nine minutes was all it took
Inter beat Cagliari 1-0 on Sunday night in Serie A round two. Hakan Calhanoglu struck in the 9th minute after a clever pass from Nicolo Barella. That was the only goal at the Unipol Domus, with Michael Fabbri in charge.
The Turkey midfielder is already up to two goals in two league games, which puts him second in the scoring charts. It is a reminder of what he gives Cristian Chivu: a midfielder who can run the show and do the dirty work too, with two interceptions on the night.
The Romanian coach named his usual 3-5-2, with Lautaro Martinez and Francesco Pio Esposito up front. Fabio Pisacane went with a 4-2-3-1 led by Daniel Maldini.
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Barella turned the game on his own
The real standout, though, was Barella. The Sardinian midfielder completed six dribbles, more than the whole Cagliari side managed between them. He hit the target with both of his efforts, created two big chances, won eight of his nine duels and delivered 23 successful passes in the final third.
That sort of stat line does not often turn up in a game with just one goal. It says plenty about the gap between the two sides: six big chances for the Nerazzurri, none for Cagliari. Inter had 65% of the ball, and their build-up work was almost absurdly clean, with Manuel Akanji completing 97% of his passes and Benjamin Pavard hitting 96% from 97 touches.
Cagliari have plenty to fix, Inter go top
Chivu emptied his bench on the hour. Piotr Zielinski, Marcus Thuram and Curtis Jones all came on together in the 65th minute, John Stones followed in the 68th, and Yann Bisseck arrived in the 81st. No drama, no panic, even with the score still tight.
Inter now have six points and sit top. Cagliari stay on three and are 13th. They had started the season by beating Parma, with that Alessandro Romano goal doing the rounds across the peninsula.
Against the reigning champions, they barely tested the keeper. The fixture list will not give them long to feel sorry for themselves.
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