L’Inter it didn’t go beyond the 2-2 home draw against Cagliari of Ranieri and, despite remaining +14 on second-placed Milan, did not take further advantage of the Rossoneri’s slowdown. At San Siro the Nerazzurri took the lead twice, first with Thuram in the 12th minute and then a Calhanoglu penalty in the 74th minute, but they were always caught by the rossoblù with Shomurodov in the 65th minute and with Viola five minutes from the end. To win the Scudetto already in the next round, Inter will have to win the derby, while the point won by Cagliari it is an important step towards salvation.
THE MATCH
No victory, no points record to snatch from Juventus and derbies to absolutely win instead of being able to settle for a draw to win the scudetto with five matchdays to spare. Basically the bad news for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter has ended here and changes the Nerazzurri season and a championship that has already been in the works for weeks by less than a comma. On the contrary, the 2-2 at San Siro certifies with a papal stamp the excellent form of Cagliari who, in terms of survival, were able to respond with the same coin to the unexpected draws of Frosinone and Sassuolo on paper. Indeed, from the Sardinians’ point of view, the sensational opportunity not capitalized by Viola in full recovery may even sound like a regret at the league leaders’ home.
Without Lautaro Martinez (suspended), Inter’s cabal – or objective difficulty – in achieving results in their own way, i.e. by crushing their opponents, is confirmed. Yet the environmental and technical conditions with the match unlocked already in the 12th minute by Thuram, who scored 553 minutes after the last time, suggested a start to the championship celebration even before the mathematics and the fateful and much-cited derby on April 22nd. Instead, Inzaghi’s battleship had to deal with the organization and desire of Cagliari, who were so good at staying in the game in the first half, conceding little to the best attack in the championship, and as shrewd and determined to get in the door of the less beaten defense of the tournament in the second half.
After Shomurodov’s equalizer in the 65th minute from the edge of the area after a thigh kick from Luvumbo, Inter put their heads back in the 74th minute with Calhanoglu’s penalty (11th goal of the league) which however this time was not enough to collect the three points. With the substitutions and the mini final revolution Ranieri sent Lapadula and Viola onto the field and it was from these two, in the area now so dear to the Sardinians or in the final minutes, that the (disputed) action of the equalizer came with the second consecutive goal of the number 10.
REPORT CARDS
Thuram 6.5 – He immediately broke the deadlock with an insertion that capitalized on Sanchez’s work, finding the net again after 553 minutes. Without his goal twin, however, he struggles to find spaces and plays to be even more continuous during the match, as has already happened on other occasions.
Unripe 5 – Confused evening for the reliable centre-back. The high balls for the Cagliari strikers, far from physically imposing, send him into a tailspin and from these situations come the two rossoblù goals.
Sanchez 6,5 – He starts with the right attitude of someone who wants to make an impact and leave a mark as well as, perhaps, play for confirmation. He gets an assist and plays as an advanced playmaker throughout the match.
Viola 7 – Just over a quarter of an hour of play to leave his mark and risk ruining the evening for all the Nerazzurri people. His late goal is worth another golden point for Cagliari.
Shomurodov 7 – The Uzbek striker is the extra man in Cagliari’s second round and he demonstrates it at San Siro with a consistently dangerous match. After a couple of unused opportunities, he finds a way to get past Sommer.
Mina 5 – On the occasion of the first goal he doesn’t read Sanchez’s movement, opening up a path for the Chilean, then he causes the penalty by intervening in a disorderly manner on Frattesi’s header.
—
THE SCORESHEET
INTER-CAGLIARI 2-2
Inter (3-5-2): Summer 5.5; Bisseck 5.5, Acerbi 5, Bastoni 5.5 (41′ st Buchanan sv); Darmian 6 (30′ st Dumfries 5.5), Barella 6.5, Calhanoglu 6.5, Mkhitaryan 5.5 (19′ st Frattesi 6), Dimarco 6 (30′ st C. Augusto 6); Thuram 6.5, Sanchez 6.5 (30′ st Arnautovic 6). Available: Di Gennaro, Audero, De Vrij, Sensi, Cuadrado, Asllani. All.: S. Inzaghi 6.
Cagliari (3-5-2): Scuffet 6; Hatzidiakos 6 (43′ st Wieteska sv), Mina 5.5, Obert 5.5; Di Pardo 6 (33′ st Zappa 6), Jankto 5 (29′ Prati 5,5), Makombou 6, Sulemana 6, Augello 6; Shomurodov 7 (33′ st Lapadula 6.5), Luvumbo 6.5 (33′ st Viola 7). A disp.: Radunovic, Aresti, Dossena, Azzi, Bendwa, Gaetano. All.: Ranieri
Referee: Forneau
Markers: 12′ Thuram (I), 20′ st Shomurodov (C), 29′ st rig. Calhanoglu (I), 38′ st Viola (C)
Warned: Prati, Mina (C)
Expelled: Nobody
—
OPTA STATISTICS
Since 2004/05, Marcus Thuram (11 goals and seven assists in this championship) is the second Inter player to have scored more than 10 goals and provided more than five assists in his first season in Serie A with the Nerazzurri after Samuel Eto’ or (12+6 in 2009/10).
Hakan Çalhanoglu (11 goals in this championship) is the second Inter midfielder capable of reaching double figures in goals in a Serie A season in the three points per win era, after Ivan Perisic (11 goals in both 2016/17 than in 2017/18); he also equaled his best season in terms of scoring (11 in 2013/14 with Hamburg).
Nicolas Viola, together with Noah Okafor, is the player who has scored the most goals as a substitute in this Serie A (five).
Marcus Thuram (11 goals and seven assists in this championship) is, together with Paulo Dybala and Olivier Giroud, one of the three players to have scored more than 10 goals and provided more than five assists in this Serie A.
Inter have set their new record for consecutive matches scored in Serie A: 40.
Cagliari has recovered 17 points from a disadvantage in the current tournament, only Napoli has done better (19).
Nicolas Viola is the first Cagliari midfielder to score at least five goals in a Serie A season since Radja Nainggolan (six in 2019/20).
Hakan Çalhanoglu is the player who has scored the most penalty goals in the five major European leagues this season: nine.
Cagliari is the team against which Alexis Sánchez has been involved in the most goals in Serie A: eight, four goals and four assists.
Eldor Shomurodov has been involved in a goal in consecutive Serie A games for the first time since August 2021 (three in that case).
Zito Luvumbo (2002) is the youngest player to have provided at least five assists in this Serie A.
Inter are the team that have earned (13) and scored (12) the most goals from penalties this season in the five major European leagues.
Simone Inzaghi is the third coach of a team that hits the target for 40 consecutive matches in the history of the top division, after Antonio Conte (43 with Juventus between February 2013 and March 2014) and Massimiliano Allegri (44 with Juventus between October 2016 and December 2017).
Cagliari have conceded 25 goals in the first half in this Serie A, fewer only than Salernitana (34) and Frosinone (30).