As the 2007-08 season came to the last stretch, Inter and AS Roma were locked in a nail biting scudetto race. With only six points separating the two through thirty-four rounds, securing anything but three points could be disastrous and in Roma’s case it could categorically end their hopes for Scudetto.
The Giallorossi started their campaign in tremendous form, losing only one game in first half of the season. However down the stretch had lost three games already and having dropped two points against Livorno in their last match, they were in a must win situation in round thirty-five match against Torino. Inter were enjoying a fantastic league campaign thus far, leading the Scudetto race from fifth round onwards and building up enough cushion at the top that despite dropping seven points in their last six matches leading up to the round thirty-five game at San Siro against Cagliari, they were still enjoying a six point lead. However, with their shaky form down the stretch, nerves were taking over and the team was eager to keep the pedal to the metal and bring home the league title.
Despite having two managers fired and being led by Davide Ballardini towards the end of the season, Cagliari were clear of the relegation zone however were not willing to rest on their laurels and were coming to San Siro on a two-game winning streak.
When the game got underway, Inter had an early scare when Alessandro Matri received the ball in midfield on a Cagliari counter-attack and carved the Nerazzurri defense as he lost his defender and only had Julio Cesar to beat however his shot was off target and kept the score even. After the early wake-up call, Inter took control of the match and went on the offensive to apply pressure on the visitors. Around the twenty-second minute mark, Patrick Vieira brought San Siro to it’s feet when he found Julio Cruz with an exquisite lobbed pass, thirty-five yards out to the far left post, where Cruz slotted home a headed goal giving Inter a 1-0 lead.
Inter continued attacking Cagliari, pushing the ball through the wings, trying to find Balotelli and Cruz in the middle. Strategy nearly paid off on multiple occasions where Balotelli and Cruz managed to head the ball to an oncoming midfielder for an open shot on goal, however despite coming close on numerous occasions, Inter were lacking the finishing touch to increase their lead. Despite having Cagliari completely on the back foot, Mancini couldn’t afford to let the visitors back into the match.
Realizing the need to for an important second goal while keeping a clean sheet, he brought on another target man to target from wings, as he replaced Dejan Stankovic for Marco Materazzi. Within ten minutes, the move paid off, as Materazzi scored from a set-piece giving Inter a comfortable 2-0 lead. Having seen Roma already win their match against Torino comfortably with a 4-1 score line, the second goal clearly lifted the pressure off the home team, as they put themselves firmly in the driver’s seat to secure crucial three points to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Cagliari managed to pull back within one goal, after Biondini’s shot took a huge deflection and rolled into the net in dying seconds of the match. Mancini’s move to bring on Materazzi towards end of the match seemed like a master stroke as the game came to a close, giving Inter 2-1 win and matrix taking home the game ball from his winning goal.
