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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +7
FULL-TIME: CAGLIARI 2-1 INTER.
90' +5
A. Cragno gets yellow.
Cragno is booked for time wasting. Desperate times for Inter, while Cagliari are just about there!
90' +4
That's why Ranocchia was brought on, then! He sets up camp at the far post and easily rises above a defender to meet a cross, but gets his header all wrong as he knocks it wide of the near post!
90' +2
HE'S SKIED IT! With Joao Pedro off the pitch it's Barella who takes the spot-kick and he blasts his penalty over the bar! Shocking from the attacking midfielder, and Inter still have a chance here with six minutes of stoppage-time to be added on.
88'
That is rather horrendous. Blindly optimistic and woefully selfish from Candreva, who lashes a free-kick miles high and wide of the goal from 35 yards. Inter had bodies packed in the penalty area there anticipating a cross. Candreva will get an earful for that.
87'
A. Ranocchia enters the game and replaces M. Brozović.
A bit of a strange substitution from Spalletti, who perhaps wants to utilise the height of Ranocchia in the box? The defender is brought on here for the final minutes, replacing Brozovic.
86'
S. Padoin enters the game and replaces A. Ioniţă.
Ionita has picked up a knock for a second time in this half, and that will spell the end of his night as he's replaced by Padoin.
83'
A. Candreva enters the game and replaces K. Asamoah.
Attacking reinforcements brought on here by Inter as Candreva replaces Asamoah.
81'
K. Despodov enters the game and replaces JP Galvão.
A second Cagliari change sees Despodov replace Joao Pedro.
79'
L. Pavoletti gets yellow.
Pavoletti catches Skriniar with an elbow to the face, and that sees the striker into the book.
Minute
Description
76'
P. Faragò gets yellow.
Farago becomes the third Cagliari player to be booked in this match as he fouls Asamoah.
75'
As things stand, Inter could drop as low as fifth by the end of this weekend should AC Milan and Roma win their respective matches. Cagliari, meanwhile, would pull nine-points clear of the bottom three, giving themselves a nice bit of breathing room.
71'
M. Brozović gets yellow.
Inter are lacking in defensive cover as Joao Pedro looks to break quickly before being taken out by Brozovic, who sees yellow for the professional foul.
70'
F. Bradarić enters the game and replaces L. Cigarini.
Cagliari go to the bench for the first time as well here, with Bradaric coming on in place of Cigarini.
68'
Borja Valero enters the game and replaces M. Vecino.
That's Vecino's final contribution of the night as he's replaced by the more attack-minded Valero for the final 20 minutes.
65'
M. Vecino gets yellow.
Vecino catches Barrella with a late challenge and that sees him into the book. He will be suspended for their next match, when they host SPAL a week from Sunday.
64'
Another delay as Ionita has picked up a knock for Cagliari. This one is much shorter as it occurred right next to the touchline, so he's being attended to off the pitch by the training staff. Cagliari are playing on a man short here for the time being.
60'
Into the final 30 minutes and Inter have it all to do still, needing two goals to turn this around. It's been one-way traffic since the restart, but they've been unable to make it count just yet.
54'
Perhaps it's just taking some time to get going, but this second half hasn't had the same tempo or intensity as the first thus far. Inter are in control, but they're not managing to carve out an opening.
50'
Inter are looking more confident at the start of this second half, looking to assert themselves in possession and doing so rather effectively. It's looking like Cagliari might have a lot of defending to do over these final 45 minutes.
48'
Brozovic wins a free-kick following a foul from Ionita, and it comes in a near identical position to the one Cagliari scored from in the first half. Inter can't replicate the result, however, as the hosts deal with it easily.
46'
The second half is underway! No changes for either side at the interval.
45' +2
HALF-TIME: CAGLIARI 2-1 INTER.
45'
There will be a minimum of two minutes added on at the end of this first half.
43'
L. Pavoletti has scored a goal for Cagliari! Assist by D. Srna.
Srna has consistently provided some enticing deliveries in this match, and that one was one of his best as he provides the assist.
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING FINISH! Cagliari lead 2-1! Pavoletti just gets in front of De Vrij to meet a cross in from Srna, before guiding a fierce first-time effort in at the near post! That was an incredibly difficult finish, but the striker made it look so easy!
42'
Mesmerising stuff at Sardegna Arena as the first half is showing no signs of letting up into the final few minutes. Cagliari are pushing once again to reclaim their lead.
38'
L. Martínez has scored a goal for Inter Milan! Assist by R. Nainggolan.
Nainggolan was offered little space on the right and almost seemed to be moving away from goal when he whipped that cross in. Excellent stuff from him to still manage to find the head of Martinez.
PARITY RESTORED! It's 1-1! Martinez does so well to attack the near post as he meets an exquisite cross from Nainggolan, heading a brilliant finish through the legs of Cragno! The striker is really rounding into form for Inter.
35'
Spalletti took note of the threat Cagliari posed in the air and from set-pieces in his pre-match press conference, so he will surely be disappointed with how his side have conceded here. And Cagliari continue to threaten from crosses with Inter affording them too much space on the flanks.
31'
I. Perišić is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
CAGLIARI DRAW FIRST BLOOD! 1-0! It's the skipper Ceppitelli who sprints on to attack a free-kick wonderfully floated in by Cigarini, and he rises to drive a header in at the near post! It's very much a deserved lead, and it has sent these home supporters into rapture!
29'
M. Škriniar gets yellow.
Skriniar goes on a bullish run through midfield, but a heavy touch sees the ball run away from him. He slides in to win it back and appears to get the ball before catching Cigarini with his follow-through, which sees him into the book.
26'
Inter's suddenly suffocating spell in possession has seen the tempo go from the match a bit. Cagliari are being forced to drop deeper off the ball as they focus their efforts on defending.
24'
Plenty of talking points from the opening 20 minutes, but still no goals to speak of. Inter have settled in a bit more and are starting to enjoy the bulk of possession, but Cagliari look threatening every time they win it back.
20'
JP Galvão gets yellow.
Joao Pedro, who has only just returned from suspenseion, picks up a yellow for a late and rather untidy slide on Martinez. It's the second yellow shown to a Cagliari player in this match.
18'
Appeals for a penalty as Pavoletti's goal-bound header appeared to strike the arm of Asamoah. The referee doesn't initially award anything, and awaits word in his ear from the video review team, before waving play on moments later.
15'
The ball goes out of play and a picture of the late Davide Astori appears on the big screen inside the stadium, which prompts a minute of applause from these supporters with the one-year anniversary of his death rapidly approaching.
13'
It's been a wonderfully open match thus far, with both sides keen to get forward quickly when they win the ball back. There's been an excellent pace to the match, with all signs pointing towards the opening goal being scored sooner than later if things continue this way.
8'
L. Cigarini gets yellow.
Cigarini trips up Nainggolan with a late slide, with the Belgian arriving first to a loose ball and looking to spring his side on a quick break. That sees the Cagliari midfielder into the book, meaning he will be suspended for their next match.
5'
Cagliari have a hunger for goals and they're really getting after it early on. There's a lovely pace to their approach play here, as they continue to get forward in numbers as they hunt down an early opener.
3'
The hosts have made a lively start, adopting a very direct approach as they get after this Inter back-line. An inviting ball in from the right leads to a penalty shout as D'Ambrosio appears to have maybe taken out his man, but the referee isn't interested.
1'
AND THEY'RE OFF! Cagliari in red and blue as they get the match underway at Sardegna Arena, with Inter in white.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of this Friday night Serie A match as Cagliari welcome Inter to Sardegna Arena!
Inter have quickly recovered from a tumultuous spell to start 2019, winning four of their last five across all competitions, as they have rallied together amidst the Mauro Icardi saga – the ex-captain still not returning to Luciano Spalletti’s squad.
Despite a return to form, Inter’s margin for error is still razor thin as both AC Milan and Roma have continued winning, leaving Spalletti’s side just three points up on fifth as their standing in the top four could evaporate with just one poor result.
Having suffered even defeats from their last 10 matches in the league, Cagliari find themselves being dragged back into the relegation fight as they look to avoid going down to Serie B for just a second time in the last 15 seasons.
With six points and four clubs between them and the bottom three, Rolando Maran’s side still have a bit of breathing room ahead of the final third of the season, in which they still have to play five of the six sides below them in what will surely be make or break fixtures.
INTER (4-2-3-1): Samir Handanovic; Danilo D'Ambrosio, Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar, Kwadwo Asamoah; Matias Vecino, Marcelo Brozovic; Matteo Politano, Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martinez.
SUBS: Miranda, Facundo Colidio, Andrea Ranocchia, Roberto Gagliardini, Dalbert, Cedric Soares, Joao Mario, Borja Valero, Antonio Candreva, Daniele Padelli.
SUBS: Rafael, Simone Padoin, Filip Bradaric, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Fabrizio Cacciatore, Christian Oliva, Maxime Leverbe, Riccardo Doratiotto, Simone Aresti, Cyril Thereau, Kiril Despodov.
That's all for our live coverage, thanks for following along. Goodbye!
Inter find themselves involved in yet another high-scoring affair tonight, after last weekend's 3-3 draw with Fiorentina. They trailed in that match as well, so they will still have faith in their ability to turn this around, but they need to shore things up in defence before they can even think about pulling level in this one.
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