Serie A: Leaders Inter Milan restore 11-point advantage over AC Milan after beating Cagliari 1-0

Milan: Inter Milan continued its march to its first Serie A title in more than a decade as it 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. Coach Antonio Conte ran onto the pitch to celebrate with his players as the goal restored Inter’s 11-point advantage over second-place AC Milan, which won 3-1 at Parma on Saturday. Third-place Juventus hosts Genoa later. Victory would still leave the nine-time defending champion 12 points behind Inter, which is bidding for a first league title since 2010. Cagliari remained five points from safety. The Sardinian side was without first-choice goalkeeper Alessio Cragno after he contracted the coronavirus on Italy duty so Guglielmo Vicario made his Serie A debut. His first save was a tough one in the 11th minute but he managed to push Christian Eriksen’s powerful attempt out. Inter had the best chances but Vicario managed to keep the score goalless while at the other end Samir Handanović was barely tested. 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.