Inter Milan moved to the top of the league with two consecutive wins.
But the 1-0 against Cagliari was far from a comfortable victory.
Cristian Chivu’s comments about the new players and the closing stages of the match also contained the task this victory left behind.
3-Line Summary
1. Chivu’s Inter Milan have won both of their 2 matches
2. A 1-0 win over Cagliari, for 6 points
3. Managing the match remained a task beyond the victory
A Goal After 9 Minutes, One Goal’s Margin Until the End
Inter Milan won 1-0 away to Cagliari in Round 2 of Italy’s Serie A. Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored the opening goal just 9 minutes into the match, and it became the only goal of the game. The Turkey-born midfielder Çalhanoğlu received a pass from Nicolò Barella and immediately shot from in front of the penalty area, finding the lower-left corner of the goal.
According to a report by ANTARA News Sulteng, Inter started in a 3-5-2 formation. Josep Martínez stood in goal, while Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Petar Sučić, and Federico Dimarco formed the midfield. Pio Esposito and Lautaro Martínez started up front. Even after the early opening goal, Inter failed to find the additional goal needed to put the match away, creating the tension of the contest.
Inter continued to create chances. Lautaro’s shot went wide, while Cagliari goalkeeper Elia Caprile stopped Dimarco’s volley. Esposito also received a pass from Barella and found a good opportunity, but the goalkeeper made the save. In the second half, at 59 minutes, Esposito’s header went wide. Despite their superiority in several phases, only one goal remained on the scoreboard.
From the middle of the second half, Cagliari became more aggressive in search of an equalizer. From a corner, Gennaro Borrelli headed Alessandro Romano’s cross, but it went wide. Inter ultimately held on to the lead. However, in a report by Goal.com, coach Chivu described it as a typical match in which failing to convert many chances could cause problems. The result was a victory, but that does not erase the flow of failing to finish the match early.
With this victory, Inter moved to 2 wins in 2 matches and 6 points. detiksport reported that Inter temporarily moved into first place with a goal difference of +4, ahead of teams such as AC Milan, Juventus, and Lazio that had recorded the same number of points. This was the situation after two matches. Inter’s strong start is clear, but this alone cannot determine the final standings of the season.
Stones and Jones, Used for Adaptation Rather Than Starting
Another aspect that revealed coach Chivu’s choices in this match was how he used John Stones and Curtis Jones. Goal.com reported that defender Stones, who joined from Manchester City, and midfielder Jones, who joined from Liverpool, were introduced as second-half substitutes rather than starters. This means the adaptation process currently needed by the team was given priority over the two players’ reputations.
Coach Chivu explained that both players had recently joined the team. He said Stones needed to recover his match fitness, while Jones needed to adapt to Inter’s style of play. He also said there was nothing to criticize about their attitude and described them as exemplary players. Therefore, it is difficult to interpret their omission from the starting lineup as a judgment of insufficient ability or their long-term standing. What the coach explained concerned only their condition and adaptation at this point.
Regarding Jones, he said Jones was a player he had been considering for some time after observing his character, intensity, technique, and composure. He also said that Inter have excellent players in midfield and that the coach’s job is to make the best choices while satisfying everyone. This describes coach Chivu’s thinking on squad selection, but it is not an announcement confirming subsequent starting lineups or playing time.
Pavard’s Move to Wing-Back, Gaps That Wavered Late
The defensive setup was also not simply a completed plan freely chosen by coach Chivu. According to Goal.com, injuries and fitness issues affected the available options, leading him to move Benjamin Pavard into a wing-back role and place Yann Bisseck in central defense. The coach acknowledged, in essence, that this adjustment was a choice made out of necessity rather than a design planned from the beginning.
Coach Chivu pointed out that the team became somewhat split late in the match and lost its spacing amid the confusion. At the same time, he mentioned that they fought and endured until the end. This assessment most accurately represents the 1-0 against Cagliari. Inter took the lead with an opening goal, created several opportunities for an additional goal, and introduced the new players for limited minutes. However, it was not a match in which they managed the lead comfortably.
The fact that this name was observed in the Indonesian search market does not indicate the match location or the location of the reporting outlet. What can be confirmed from the provided reports is that Inter won away to Cagliari and that coach Chivu mentioned both the issue of finishing matches and the adaptation of the players, even with a start yielding 6 points. The scene that more closely describes Inter at present is not just the single fact of leading the table, but the Cagliari match’s 1-0, in which they could not let their guard down until the end.
References
Tags #CristianChivu #CristianChivu #InterMilan #InterMilan #SerieA #Cagliari #HakanÇalhanoğlu #JohnStones #CurtisJones #BenjaminPavard #InterCagliari #ItalianLeague