Serie A: Barella Assists Calhanoglu Goal as Inter Milan Beat Cagliari 1-0 to Stay Top

At 2:45 a.m. Beijing time on August 31, 2026, the second round of the 2026/27 Serie A season was played at Stadio Sant'Elia, with 13th-placed Cagliari hosting league leaders Inter Milan. In the first half, Inter Milan took an early lead through Hakan Calhanoglu's goal. The two sides then created chances but failed to change the score again. In the second half, Cagliari made several attempts to fight back, but Inter Milan's defense remained solid, and Inter Milan eventually secured a 1-0 away victory to stay top of the table.

【Match Process】

9th minute: Inter Milan launched an attack, Nicolo Barella provided an assist, and Hakan Calhanoglu calmly finished inside the penalty area to give Inter Milan a 1-0 lead over Cagliari.

23rd minute: Lautaro Martinez's long-range effort from outside the penalty area went wide.

26th minute: Barella's close-range attempt hit the post, narrowly missing the chance to extend the lead.

28th minute: Dimarco's long-range shot from outside the box also struck the post as Inter Milan missed another opportunity.

33rd minute: Inter Milan continued to create threats, with Barella and Lautaro Martinez seeing consecutive shots go wide.

45+1 minute: Pio Esposito's close-range attempt hit the post, allowing Cagliari to escape danger.

At halftime, Inter Milan led Cagliari 1-0.

49th minute: Cagliari's Danny Maldini took a long-range shot, but it failed to hit the target.

56th minute: Cagliari made the first substitution, with Aliou Fadera replacing Fazzini Jacopo.

57th minute: Cagliari made two substitutions, with Carlos Kevin and Raphael Koffler replacing Paulo Mendy and Harry Winks respectively.

65th minute: Inter Milan made three substitutions, bringing on Curtis Jones, Piotr Zielinski and Thuram, replacing Sucic, Calhanoglu and Pio Esposito respectively.

77th minute: Cagliari made another change, with Gennaro Borrelli replacing Danny Maldini.

81st minute: Inter Milan replaced Luis Henrique with Bisseck to further strengthen the defense.

83rd minute: Cagliari replaced Deiola with Riccardo Cervo in an attempt to strengthen their attack.

86th minute: Lautaro Martinez's close-range shot hit the post, and Inter Milan came close to scoring again.

In stoppage time, neither side scored again, and Inter Milan defeated Cagliari 1-0.

【Lineups】

Cagliari: 1-Ilya Caprile, 2-Pedro Ze, 4-Romano, 6-Harry Winks (57' 22-Raphael Koffler), 8-Ndari Michel, 10-Fazzini Jacopo (56' 39-Aliou Fadera), 14-Deiola (83' 20-Riccardo Cervo), 15-Juan Rodriguez, 31-Paulo Mendy (57' 9-Carlos Kevin), 33-Obert, 70-Danny Maldini (78' 29-Gennaro Borrelli)

Inter Milan: 1-Josep Martinez, 8-Sucic (65' 21-Curtis Jones), 10-Lautaro Martinez, 11-Luis Henrique (81' 31-Bisseck), 20-Hakan Calhanoglu (65' 7-Piotr Zielinski), 23-Nicolo Barella, 25-Manuel Akanji (68' 6-John Stones), 28-Benjamin, 32-Dimarco, 94-Pio Esposito (65' 9-Thuram), 95-Bastoni