Cagliari 0-2 Inter: Captain Martinez makes the difference for Chivu´s side

Inter secured their first away win of the season in Serie A as they beat Cagliari 2-0 at Unipol Domus.

Lautaro Martinez and Francesco Pio Esposito scored either side of half-time to clinch all three points for Cristian Chivu’s side, who have temporarily moved up to fifth in the table with their third win of the campaign.

It took just nine minutes for Inter to make the breakthrough, with captain Martinez rising highest to head past Elia Caprile from Alessandro Bastoni’s lofted cross into the six-yard box.

Although Inter restricted the hosts from having any shots on their own in the first half, they had to wait until after half-time for their next big chance as Hakan Calhanoglu struck the inside of the post with a side-footed attempt from the edge of the box.

Cagliari then hit the upright themselves later on through Sebastiano Esposito, one of just six shots they attempted, and were made to rue their missed chance eight minutes from time.

Francesco Pio Esposito extended their lead with a simple finish from Federico Dimarco’s cross following good build-up play from Martinez and Calhanoglu, leaving Cagliari with no chance of making a comeback.

117 – #LautaroMartínez (117 goals) has overtaken S. Mazzola (116) and is now the 5th top scorer in #Inter‘s history in #SerieA, behind G. Meazza (197), B. Lorenzi (138), S. Nyers (133) and A. Altobelli (128). Climb.#CagliariInter pic.twitter.com/FPPKzjoaC3

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 27, 2025

Data Debrief: Martinez climbs the Inter rankings

It was a much-deserved win for Inter, who produced 2.74 expected goals (xG) from 20 shots to Cagliari’s 0.19.

Martinez’s header saw him score his 117th Serie A goal for Inter, making him the 5th top scorer in the club’s history in the competition, behind Giuseppe Meazza (197), Benito Lorenzi (138), Stefano Nyers (133) and Alessandro Altobelli (128).

Francesco Pio Esposito, meanwhile, is the fourth-youngest Italian player to score for Inter in Serie A since 2000 (20 years, 91 days), after his brother Sebastiano (17 years, 172 days), Mario Balotelli (17 years, 238 days), and Davide Faraoni (20 years, 74 days).