Cristian Chivu praises Inter Milan after win over Cagliari

Third straight victory for Inter Milan: Lautaro scores, Pio Esposito nets first Serie A goal

Third consecutive success for Inter Milan, who after the Champions League victory against Ajax and the 2-1 win over Sassuolo, also take all three points in Cagliari in the fifth round of Serie A 2025/26. 

The match was decided by Lautaro’s strike and the first Serie A goal by Pio Esposito: here are Cristian Chivu’s words after the match.

“The team put in a good performance. It was a real match, where we showed plenty of quality and some beautiful plays. We wasted a bit too much: we should have closed it already in the first half, but football is like this. 

You have to accept it, understand the moments, do good things when possible, and suffer when you need to suffer. You have to understand what the opponent allows: they surprised us a little with their system, but they kept the same principles. 

We didn’t manage to finish it earlier and had to suffer a bit, they gained courage: then we closed the game and secured these three points, we are happy. We also hit the post twice and if I’m not wrong, Cagliari are the tallest team in Europe and we knew the danger they could bring on set pieces: with the substitutions we had to lower our structure, but we didn’t concede and that was important.

Chivu: “This Inter Milan squad deserves to be defended”

All the boys know how to read the moments and understand what to do, especially those who started today: they have value, experience, and know how to do many things. 

Step by step they are showing their qualities and who they really are. That’s why I’ve always said this group deserves to be defended. Few people are doing it at the moment, many have forgotten what this team was last season. We know that the new arrivals also have quality and can help us: they are proving it. Honestly, they make it difficult for me, because I have to make choices. But the team is growing, gaining confidence and awareness. We must always look forward and give our maximum to show this team is still strong. 

Pio is a 2005-born player, he has all the future ahead, he must keep working like this: he has room for improvement and must stay grounded. I already spoke about him three months ago: he is surprising me, he is doing very well, but we need to go slowly and not demand too much from him. He plays for the team and fears nothing, he is cold in front of goal and I am happy he scored. 

As for Martinez, things with him and with Sommer were already clarified a few weeks ago, during the break. It was already known. The future will be seen, but as I said in the press conference, everything can change from one day to the next, from one month to another.”

Source: inter.it