Darmian netted his third Inter Milan goalMatteo Darmian was the unlikely hero as Inter Milan beat Cagliari to extend their Serie A lead to 11 points.
The former Manchester United full-back tapped home Achraf Hakimi’s cross with 14 minutes remaining to seal an 11th successive victory.
Strugglers Cagliari had frustrated Inter who saw defender Stefan de Vrij head against the bar after 68 minutes.
Antonio Conte’s side now require 16 points from eight games to win their first league title since 2009-10.
AC Milan are second, with Juventus – who have won the past nine titles – one point behind them after a 3-1 win over Genoa.
Dejan Kulusevski gave Andrea Pirlo’s side the lead with a clever finish and Alvaro Morata made it 2-0 after Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post.
Gianluca Scamacca headed in for Genoa but Weston McKennie slotted home to make the game safe.
Line-upsInter MilanFormation 3-5-2
1Handanovic
37Skriniar6de Vrij95Bastoni
36Darmian24Eriksen77Brozovic12Sensi15Young
9Lukaku7Sánchez
1Handanovic37Skriniar6de Vrij95Bastoni36DarmianSubstituted forD’Ambrosioat 84’minutes24EriksenSubstituted forGagliardiniat 81’minutes77BrozovicBooked at 52mins12SensiSubstituted forVecinoat 81’minutes15YoungSubstituted forHakimiat 69’minutes9Lukaku7SánchezSubstituted forMartínezat 69’minutesSubstitutes2Hakimi5Gagliardini8Vecino10Martínez13Ranocchia14Perisic27Padelli33D’Ambrosio97Radu99PinamontiCagliariFormation 3-5-2
31Vicario
24Rugani2Godín44Carboni
25Zappa8Marin4Nainggolan32Duncan18Nández
10Geraldino dos Santos Galvão30Pavoletti
31Vicario24RuganiSubstituted forSimeoneat 84’minutes2Godín44Carboni25ZappaSubstituted forCerriat 90’minutes8Marin4NainggolanBooked at 90mins32DuncanSubstituted forAsamoahat 72’minutes18Nández10Geraldino dos Santos Galvão30PavolettiSubstituted forPereiroat 90+1’minutesSubstitutes1Aresti3Tripaldelli9Simeone15Klavan16Calabresi19Asamoah20Pereiro22Lykogiannis27Cerri34Ciocci40WalukiewiczLive TextMatch ends, Inter Milan 1, Cagliari 0.
Second Half ends, Inter Milan 1, Cagliari 0.
Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari).
Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Diego Godín (Cagliari).
Substitution, Cagliari. Gastón Pereiro replaces Leonardo Pavoletti.
Substitution, Cagliari. Alberto Cerri replaces Gabriele Zappa.
Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari).
Attempt blocked. Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Razvan Marin.
Attempt blocked. Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. João Pedro (Cagliari) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Gabriele Zappa with a cross.
Substitution, Cagliari. Giovanni Simeone replaces Daniele Rugani.
Substitution, Inter Milan. Danilo D’Ambrosio replaces Matteo Darmian.
Foul by Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan).
Razvan Marin (Cagliari) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Inter Milan. Matías Vecino replaces Stefano Sensi.
Substitution, Inter Milan. Roberto Gagliardini replaces Christian Eriksen.