Nicolò Barella chose not to celebrate after scoring for Inter against his hometown club, Cagliari. However, his teammate Marcus Thuram made a spirited, albeit unusual, effort to elicit a smile from the midfielder.
Inter struggled to break down the Sardinian defense at San Siro for a significant period, eventually finding the breakthrough when Thuram tapped in a pass from Federico Dimarco. Shortly thereafter, Thuram’s shot was blocked, but Barella was on hand to powerfully strike the rebound past Elia Caprile for Inter’s second goal.
The Reason Behind Barella’s Restrained Celebration
Barella refrained from celebrating and instead waved to the crowd in an apologetic gesture. This was because Cagliari is his hometown club, where he began his footballing journey before his transfer to Inter in 2019.
In an attempt to lift his teammate’s spirits, Thuram playfully scooped up the diminutive midfielder and carried him on his shoulders. The Italian appeared somewhat apprehensive about being lifted so high and seemed relieved when he was safely returned to the ground.
Inter entered the weekend with a nine-point lead at the top of the Serie A table, edging closer to securing the Scudetto.