Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 2:30 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 14:34

Internazionale did not make a mistake on Sunday afternoon in the battle for the league title in the Serie A. The patience of the team of coach Antonio Conte was tested against Cagliari, as Matteo Darmian only ten minutes before time for the only goal of the game made: 1-0. Due to the victory, Inter is now unbeaten in Serie A for fourteen consecutive games, while the last twelve home games were won. The lead over pursuer AC Milan, which won 1-3 against Parma yesterday, is again eleven points.

Given the statistics, things had to go strange on Sunday, Inter did not want to score at home against Cagliari. In the previous 37 meetings, the team only managed to not score once, while Cagliari held the zero for the last time in 1992 when visiting the league-leader of the Serie A. Cagliari was powerless in the first half to make it really difficult for Inter and could thank goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for not going into half time with a disadvantage. The closing post had a brilliant save on a shot by Christian Eriksen and also stood in the way of a deployment by Darmian in the short corner.

In the meantime, Alexis Sánchez thought he would give his team the lead when he found the top left corner on a pass from Romelu Lukaku. However, referee Lucas Pairetto established that the attacker was in an offside position and rejected the goal. After the break, the game hardly changed and the best opportunities were for the home team. Stefano Sensi quickly fired on Vicario’s goal from the right side of the field, but had to watch the Cagliari goalie make a fine save. Also an attempt by Achraf Hakimi did not have enough precision and therefore cannot be regarded as a goal.

Inter remained patient and was rewarded ten minutes before the end. Hakimi broke through on the right side of the field, combined with Lukaku, then put the ball on a silver platter near the far post for Darmian. It was then a breeze for the defender to hit from close range: 1-0. Moments before, Stefan de Vrij, who played the entire game, hit the bar with a header from a corner kick. Cagliari started in the final phase in the hunt for an equalizer, but was unable to break through the Milanese wall.