Inzaghi opted to freshen up his side with a number of changes following Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Marko Arnautovic, who was among those brought into the side, required less than 15 minutes to get the leaders off to the perfect start, pouncing onto the ball from Carlos Augusto’s chest down before blasting his shot into the roof of the net to register his fourth goal in his last five league appearances.
Buoyed by his opener, Arnautovic turned provider to tee up forward partner Lautaro Martinez for Inter’s second, just moments after Yann Sommer made a strong save to thwart Cagliari’s Roberto Piccoli. Martínez raced onto the Austrian’s well-weighted pass around the corner and showed great composure to delicately dink the ball over Elia Caprile to net his 20th competitive goal of the season.
After taking a comfortable lead into the break, there appeared to be an element of complacency to Inter’s sluggish start to the second period, with Cagliari’s Piccoli given the space to steer a downward header home from Tommaso Augello’s inviting cross within three minutes of the restart.
However, Inter ultimately showed why they are favourites for a second successive Scudetto to quickly restore their two-goal cushion through Yann Bisseck, who rose high in the box to power his emphatic header in from Federico Dimarco’s corner.
Cagliari did their utmost to produce a response, as Piccoli forced Stefan de Vrij to make a goalline clearance in the final 15 minutes.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they were unable to find a way back into the contest as the Nerazzurri expertly managed the closing stages to secure their seventh H2H win in eight Serie A matches.
While Inter tighten their grip on top spot, Davide Nicola’s charges stay six points clear of the drop following a fourth defeat in six away games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marko Arnautovic (Inter Milan)