Inter 4-0 Cagliari: Martinez at the double as Nerazzurri go top of Serie A

Martinez,
who
also
had
a
penalty
saved,
opened
the
scoring
with
a
first-half
header
and
Alexis
Sanchez
doubled
the
lead
shortly
after
the
restart.

Hakan
Calhanoglu’s
thumping
25-yard
strike
increased
the
advantage,
before
Martinez
put
the
icing
on
the
cake
by
taking
his
Serie
A
tally
for
the
season
to
10
with
a
neat
finish.

Results
|

Points
Table
|

Fixtures

Simone
Inzaghi’s
side
moved
a
point
clear
of
city
rivals
Milan
at
the
summit
of
the
table
after
an
eighth
win
in
10
league
meetings
with
the
Rossoblu.

No
team
have
scored
more
goals
from
set-pieces
than
Inter
in
Serie
A
this
season.

So
it
was
no
surprise
that
the
hosts
netted
another
to
open
the
scoring
against
the
side
that
had
conceded
the
most
in
the
Italian
top
flight,
with
Martinez
powerfully
heading
in
from
Calhanoglu’s
corner
just
before
the
half-hour
mark.

Martinez
had
a
great
chance
to
add
a
second
just
before
the
break
after
Denzel
Dumfries
was
brought
down
by
Alessio
Cragno
in
the
box,
but
the
goalkeeper
redeemed
himself
by
guessing
correctly
to
keep
out
the
spot-kick.

Inter
doubled
their
lead
within
five
minutes
of
the
restart
as
Sanchez
neatly
guided
home
Nicolo
Barella’s
cross
on
the
volley.

Calhanoglu
got
in
on
the
act
66
minutes
in
as
he
beat
Cragno
with
a
stunning
long-range
strike.

Martinez
was
on
target
again
two
minutes
later;
latching
onto
Barella’s
lofted
through
ball
before
slotting
in
his
sixth
league
goal
against
Cagliari
in
seven
appearances.

Sanchez
rattled
the
bar
late
on
as
the
defending
champions
made
an
emphatic
statement
as
they
rose
to
the
summit.

What
does
it
mean?
History
beckons
for
Inter

Inter
have
now
scored
98
Serie
A
goals
in
2021
–
just
one
fewer
than
their
record
tally
for
a
calendar
year
set
back
in
1950.

The
Nerazzurri
also
recorded
their
18th
home
league
of
the
year
–
equalling
their
best
tally
from
1989
–
and
will
fancy
their
chances
of
surpassing
those
records
when
they
host
Torino
in
their
final
match
of
2021
on
December
22.

Martinez
on
a
roll

Argentina
international
Martinez
has
found
the
back
of
the
net
in
four
consecutive
Serie
A
games
for
the
first
time
since
his
move
to
Italy.

Although
disappointed
not
to
have
made
it
a
hat-trick
after
his
penalty
miss,
he
was
a
real
handful
and
hit
the
target
with
all
four
of
his
shots.

Barella
bounces
back

Barella
drew
widespread
criticism
for
the
manner
of
his
dismissal
in
a
defeat
to
Real
Madrid
in
the
Champions
League
in
midweek,
but
redeemed
himself
with
a
wonderful
performance.

The
midfielder
provided
two
delicious
assists
for
Sanchez
and
Martinez
and
also
recorded
game-high
tallies
of
four
key
passes,
130
touches,
113
attempted
passes
and
107
successful
passes.

Key
Opta
Facts

–
Martinez
has
missed
two
of
his
last
four
Serie
A
penalties,
having
only
failed
to
find
the
back
of
the
net
with
one
of
the
previous
seven.

–
Since
2017-18,
no
goalkeeper
has
saved
more
penalties
than
Cragno
in
Serie
A
(six).

–
Sanchez
became
the
15th
Inter
player
to
score
in
Serie
A
this
season,
more
than
any
other
team.

–
Calhanoglu
has
been
involved
in
eight
goals
(five
goals
and
three
assists)
in
his
last
six
league
games.

What’s
next?

Inter
look
to
maintain
their
lead
at
the
top
of
Serie
A
away
at
Salernitana
next
Friday
(December
17).
Cagliari
are
back
in
action
two
days
earlier,
when
they
welcome
second-tier
Cittadella
in
the
Coppa
Italia.