It didn’t take Inter long to show their intent, with Lautaro Martinez sending a volley crashing against the post after Antoine Makoumbou’s attempted clearance fell invitingly for the Argentine.
That eventually paid dividends, as their breakthrough came in the 21st minute when Marcus Thuram played a perfectly weighted pass for Denzel Dumfries to hit a first-time shot through Adam Obert’s legs and into the bottom corner, adding to the assist that opened Inter’s account on matchday one.
An impressive recovery block was required from Hakan Calhanoglu to deny Nahitan Nandez before Leonardo Pavoletti sent a header marginally off target as Cagliari looked to conjure a comeback.
Instead, Claudio Ranieri saw his side’s deficit double on the half-hour mark when Federico Dimarco raced up the left and found Martinez, who had the composure to patiently wait for the opportune moment to stroke the ball past Boris Radunovic.
Things soon got even worse for the Sardinians when captain Pavoletti was forced off through injury, setting Inter up for what would surely be a cruise to three points after half-time.
His replacement, Zito Luvumbo, was Cagliari’s greatest source of hope with his runs behind but saw his most promising route to goal cut out by a block from Stefan de Vrij.
Inter had stagnated by the time Simone Inzaghi made a triple change in the 70th minute, and Calhanoglu came closest to adding some extra gloss with an effort that came back off the post despite there being little change to the pace.
Yann Sommer prevented their evening from getting awkward when he saved Paulo Azzi’s attempt but the main focus for Inter is that they join AC Milan, Napoli and Hellas Verona on a perfect six points. As an added bonus, Inter have also started five straight Serie A campaigns with two wins for the first time ever.
Cagliari, meanwhile, were offered a reminder of what the league’s best teams can do after their opening-day draw.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Inter)
