Inter 3-0 Cagliari: Thuram on target to push Chivu's side closer to Scudetto

Marcus Thuram's hot streak in front of goal continued as he helped Inter to a 3-0 win over Cagliari, moving them one step closer to the Serie A title.

Thuram and Nicolo Barella scored in the space of four minutes, before Piotr Zielinski added a late third, moving Inter 12 points clear at the top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend's action.

The first half saw few clear-cut chances at San Siro, though Federico Dimarco saw a close-range poke cleared off the line by Michel Adopo 17 minutes in after Thuram's low drive from an offside position was pushed away.

Francesco Pio Esposito saw a strike from the left of the box parried by Caprile, but it was Inter's fast start to the second half that secured all three points.

Dimarco pushed forward down the left to fizz a low ball across the face of goal to Thuram, who tapped into an empty net while unmarked at the far post in the 52nd minute.

And just four minutes later, Barella doubled their lead. After some pinball in the box, the Inter captain put his laces through a fierce shot on the edge of the box.

Cagliari struggled to muster a response, and Zielinski added some late gloss to the scoreline, with his first-time effort swerving into the top-right corner in the 92nd minute.

Data Debrief: Dimarco reaches new heights

While Thuram has now scored four goals in his last three matches for Inter, it was Dimarco who stole the spotlight as he continues to provide a threat from defence.

Dimarco (21: six goals, 15 assists) has become the first defender to surpass 20 goal involvements in a single Serie A season since Opta started collecting data in 2004-05.

There was also a slice of history for Zielinski after his late goal, which was his 50th in Serie A, meaning he is now the highest-scoring player from Poland in the competition's history.