Inter Milan 1-0 Cagliari: Darmian winner causes Antonio Conte to sprint onto the San Siro pitch

Inter Milan continued their march to a first Serie A title in more than a decade by beat relegation-threatened Cagliari 1-0 on Sunday.

Defender Matteo Darmian scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute as Inter found it tougher than expected against a side fighting for Serie A survival.

Inter boss Antonio Conte ran onto the pitch to celebrate with his players as the goal restored Inter’s 11-point lead over second-placed AC Milan, who won 3-1 at Parma on Saturday.

Matteo Darmian scored late as Inter Milan beat Cagliari 1-0 to move closer to the Serie A title

Antonio Conte (right) sprinted down the touchline to celebrate Darmian’s goal with his players

Third-place Juventus hosts Genoa later. Victory would still leave the nine-time defending champion 12 points behind Inter, who are bidding for a first league title since 2010. 

Cagliari, who had Guglielmo Vicario making his Serie A debut in goal after Alessio Cragno contracted coronavirus this week, remain five points from safety. 

Vicario’s first save was a tough one in the 11th minute but he managed to push Christian Eriksen’s powerful attempt out.

Inter found it difficult against lowly Cagliari despite their recent good form at the summit

But Darmian netted after 77 minutes to spark delirium among the Inter players and staff

Inter had the best chances but Vicario managed to keep the score goalless, while Samir Handanovic was barely testedat the other end. 

Stefan de Vrij headed a corner off the bar in the 69th and Inter finally found the breakthrough shortly after. 

Achraf Hakimi played a one-two with Romelu Lukaku on the right side of the area before rolling across for Darmian to slide in at the back post and fire in from close range.

Conte’s Inter are now 11 points clear at the top of Serie A with eight games remaining