December 13, (THEWILL) – Inter Milan reclaimed first place in Serie A with a 4-0 victory over Cagliari at the San Siro.
Lautaro Martinez’s two goals, as well as one each from Alexis Sanchez and Hakan Calhanoglu, were enough to put Simone Inzaghi’s team ahead of their city rivals AC Milan.
The visitors were timid and ineffective throughout, but they could not get close to the hosts and their attacking attitude, as they consistently controlled possession and the tempo of the game, peppering Alessio Cragno’s goalmouth.
Martinez scored on 29 minutes with a powerful header from a perfect Calhanoglu corner, but the Argentine was denied from the penalty spot by Cragno on the stroke of halftime, as the visiting goalkeeper made amends for his foul on Denzel Dumfries just before.
After a wonderful Nicolo Barella cross, Sanchez doubled the lead five minutes after the break, leathering a powerful finish beyond Cragno.
Calhanoglu would demonstrate why he was named Serie A’s player of the month for November with a spectacular long-range strike; cutting inside off the right with too much time and space, he would plant his attempt into the top corner to make it three.
Martinez made it four with a delicate finish through the keeper’s legs, with Barella again the architect with a wonderful clipped ball over the top that Martinez controlled competently and finished with grace.
Walter Mazzarri’s team was blown away, but Inzaghi is unconcerned as the Nerazzurri return to the summit in search of the Scudetto.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
