On 28 August, one of the matches of the 2nd round of the Italian Football Championship took place. Cagliari (Italy) and Inter (Milan) met.
Italian Championship, 2nd round
Cagliari (Italy) - Inter (Milan) - 0:2 (0:2)
Goals: D. Dumfries (21), Lautaro Martínez (30)
Warnings: Z. Luvumbo (81), Mkhitaryan (81)
Inter Milan claimed a confident 2-0 victory over Cagliari in a much-anticipated Serie A match at the Unipol Domus Stadium. Despite a thrilling encounter, both teams failed to score in the second half, leaving the scoreboard unchanged. The match started brightly, with Inter's Denzel Dumfries striking an accurate shot into the box in the 21st minute to give his team their first lead of the match. The goal showcased Dumfries' skill and accuracy, leaving the Cagliari defence in a daze. In the 30th minute, Lautaro Martinez struck the Inter goal, increasing the lead to 2-0. In the 35th minute, Cagliari made their first substitution: Leonardo Pavoletti was replaced by Zito Luvumbo. At the start of the second half, Cagliari made another substitution, replacing Gabriel Oristanio with Alessandro Di Pardo in the 47th minute. In the 60th minute, Cagliari continued to shuffle the line-up, replacing Razvan Marin with Jakub Jankto. The team's efforts to break through Inter's solid defence were commendable, but they did not have a significant impact on the game. In the 71st minute, Inter made a triple substitution when the game was getting out of hand.
Juan Cuadrado came on in place of Dumfries, Federico Dimarco came on in place of Carlos Augusto and Nicolo Barella was replaced by Davide Frattesi. These changes were aimed at maintaining Inter's advantage and sealing the win. In the 77th minute, Inter made their fourth substitution, replacing Marko Arnautovic with Marcus Thuram. In the 81st minute both teams received yellow cards, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was cautioned for Inter and Zito Luvumbo for Cagliari. In the 82nd minute, Mkhitaryan, who had just received a yellow card, was replaced by Stefano Sensi. Inter's tactical decision was aimed at preventing a possible second suspension for Mkhitaryan and ensuring he was ready for further matches. In the 85th minute, Cagliari made their last substitution, with Kamaldin Sulemana replacing Alessandro Deiola and Gaston Zappa replacing Eldor Shomurodov. Despite Cagliari's active play in the second half, Inter's solid defence as well as their high realisation in the first half secured a 2-0 victory. This result allowed Inter to climb further up the Serie A standings, while Cagliari were left looking for answers, reorganising for the next match.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Bologna - Cagliari, Inter - Fiorentina.
| Cagliari | Inter | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kicks to the goal | 3 |
| 11 | Kicks | 16 |
| 5 | Blocked shots | 4 |
| 6 | Penalty kicks | 12 |
| 5 | Penalty kicks | 4 |
| 9 | Offences | 10 |
| 4 | Corner | 7 |
| 1 | Offsides | 1 |
| 34% | Ball possession | 66% |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 1 | Keeper saves | 2 |
| 326 | Total assists | 651 |
| 252 | Accurate assists | 570 |
| 77% | Accuracy of passes | 88% |