Inter strengthened their Serie A lead and confirmed Champions League qualification with a 3-0 victory over Cagliari, as Cristian Chivu expressed satisfaction with both performance and progress. The result followed Como’s 2-1 defeat to Sassuolo, which gave Inter a clear chance to secure a place in UEFA’s top club competition for next season.

The match at San Siro swung Inter’s way after a flat opening period, with Marcus Thuram and Nicolo Barella scoring within four second-half minutes before Piotr Zielinski struck in stoppage time. The win extended Inter’s advantage at the top of the table to 12 points and underlined their strong position in the Scudetto race.

Inter’s latest league success means the club have now won at least 25 of their first 33 Serie A fixtures for only the fourth time in history. Beyond the numbers, the Cagliari result officially locked in Champions League football for next season with five games remaining, reflecting the consistency that has kept Inter clear of domestic rivals.

Opta’s supercomputer now gives Inter a 99.7% probability of finishing the season as champions, highlighting the scale of the advantage created by Chivu’s squad. While the Scudetto is not yet mathematically secured, Inter’s points cushion and form have put the club in a commanding position heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

Chivu had joked in the previous round that Inter’s main priority was Champions League qualification, a pointed remark aimed at rival commentary on the title race. Against Cagliari, Inter achieved that target, yet Chivu again shifted attention away from celebrations about the Scudetto and stressed the significance of ensuring a place in UEFA competition.

Reflecting on the performance, Chivu stressed how Inter responded after an unconvincing opening half, when slow ball circulation allowed Cagliari to stay compact. Inter improved tempo and width after the interval, pressing higher and stretching the visitors, which created the space that led to Thuram’s breakthrough and opened the game.

“I was being ironic last week, but not joking, so we’re very happy, Chivu told Sky Sport Italia. We were aware of how important this match was. We had a few problems in the first half; we moved it too slowly, and that allowed Cagliari to cover the spaces very well. We spread them wider after the break, pushed the forwards up, and also raised the intensity level. When this team breaks the deadlock, it starts to enjoy its football and go for more ambitious moves. This is a team with quality; they are great players, and they enjoy themselves on the pitch. We are aware of the hard work we’ve done, of what we did to become competitive, and thank God we have now achieved the objective of Champions League qualification with five games to spare, so now we can look forward and try to be competitive to the end.”

Inter Champions League ambitions and European context

Despite this season’s early exit from European competition, when Inter surprisingly went out in the Champions League play-offs against Bodo/Glimt, Chivu believes the club can again be competitive on that stage. However, Chivu underlined the scale of the challenge when facing clubs with larger budgets, especially those from the Premier League.

Chivu pointed out that financial power does not always lead to success in Europe, noting examples of teams that spent heavily yet failed in the Champions League. Even so, Inter view regular qualification for the tournament as a core objective and intend to remain at a level where they can contest both Serie A and continental campaigns.

“It’s not easy, as you are up against teams of a certain level, especially the Premier League sides that spend an incredible amount of money to keep reinforcing. We have a thousand examples of teams who spent so much and still discovered it’s no guarantee of Champions League success. We want to be competitive, one of the objectives of all clubs is to qualify for the Champions League, so it’s not a joke really, because everyone wants to participate in that tournament.”

Inter Champions League platform and remaining targets

Beyond the league programme, Inter still compete for domestic silverware, with a Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Como scheduled in midweek. The club’s position in Serie A, combined with Champions League qualification, gives Chivu some room to manage the squad while keeping standards high across all remaining fixtures.

Inter’s comfortable win over Cagliari, the strengthened Scudetto position, and early confirmation of Champions League participation underline the progress made under Chivu. With five league games left, plus Coppa Italia commitments, Inter aim to maintain intensity, protect their advantage in Serie A, and arrive in next season’s European competition with confidence built on this campaign’s work.