Serie A

Football Italia

·14 April 2024

Serie A | Inter 2-2 Cagliari: Ranieri stalls Scudetto party

Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari put a spanner in the Scudetto works with a controversial 2-2 draw, so Inter must beat rivals Milan to secure the Scudetto on Monday April 22.

Milan were held to a 3-3 draw this afternoon, so with a victory here tonight, just a draw would’ve been sufficient in the Derby della Madonnina to celebrate their 20th Serie A title.

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Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard sat out bans, with Stefan de Vrij and Juan Cuadrado back on the bench. The Sardinians had Nahitan Nandez and Alessandro Deiola suspended, with Leonardo Pavoletti, Andrea Petagna and Marco Mancosu injured, plus Inter-owned Gaetano Oristanio a late absentee with tonsillitis.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Nicolò Barella tested Simone Scuffet early on with a ferocious volley from well outside the box on a corner, then Federico Dimarco volleyed across the face of goal from an Alexis Sanchez assist.

Zito Luvumbo cut inside for a left-foot curler just wide, but Inter took the lead when Alexis Sanchez ran onto the Matteo Darmian pass and pulled back from the by-line for a simple Thuram tap-in. He celebrated using teammate Lautaro Martinez’s usual gesture.

Wonderful interplay from Inter and Marcus Thuram scores his 11th Serie A goal of the season ✨ 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/D0oELzdOZx — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 14, 2024

That was an historic moment, setting a new club record of 40 consecutive Serie A matches with at least one goal scored.

Luvumbo failed to make the most of a promising counter-attack and curled another effort just past the far top corner, while Eldor Shomurodov scuffed the finish after a well-worked move.

Barella had the ball in the net with a wonderful looping header into the far top corner, but had wandered offside on the Dimarco assist.

Claudio Ranieri was not happy with his midfield and made a tactical change after just 28 minutes, replacing Jakub Jankto.

It remained surprisingly open, with Barella charging down the Shomurodov effort and Dimarco’s spectacular volley fingertipped over the bar by Scuffet.

Sommer smothered an Adam Obert snooker shot and Scuffet parried a deflected Hakan Calhanoglu free kick.

Cagliari equalised when Luvumbo with his back to goal knocked down a long Obert ball, allowing Shomurodov to steer the finish between Alessandro Bastoni’s legs, so Sommer couldn’t get enough on it to keep the shot out.

Cagliari make things interesting at San Siro 👀 Eldor Shomurodov's strike brings Claudio Ranieri's side level against Inter! 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/1gkzJ8Hzv1 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 14, 2024

Alexis Sanchez saw a glancing header skim the far post from Dimarco’s cross, but Inter received a penalty when Davide Frattesi’s header was charged down by a high and wide Yerry Mina arm. Specialist Calhanoglu drilled low into the near bottom corner, although Scuffet got a glove to it.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu 100% record from the spot continues for Inter 🎯 The league leaders are back in front! 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/tFPssX6RSa — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 14, 2024

It still was not over, as relegation-threatened Cagliari got back on track in controversial circumstances. A header over the top was knocked down by Gianluca Lapadula, possibly using an arm, and Nicolas Viola used his body well to turn Francesco Acerbi and fire in an equaliser.

Nicolas Viola latches on to a loose ball to get a late equaliser for Cagliari at San Siro 🫢 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 14, 2024

Viola wanted more and drilled just wide of the near post, but deep into stoppages Lapadula went on the counter and crossed for the Viola diving header that was straight at Sommer.