INTER MILAN kept up their domestic resurgence with a 2-1 victory over Cagliari last night.

Roberto Mancini's men went into the Serie A away game just three days before they are due to step out against the Hoops at the San Siro.

And, following on from two wins on the trot in the league, the Nerazzuri maintained their recent run of form with goals from Mateo Kovacic and Mauro Icardi cancelling out keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo's own goal.

The result hauls inter up to joint sixth with Genoa and Sampdoria, two points ahead of city rivals AC Milan.

Despite the tight end result, it was a convincing win for Mancini's side, albeit against a team currently occupying one of the relegation spots in Serie A.

The Italian giants enjoyed most of the possession and registered 11 shots on target, with on-loan Arsenal man Lukas Podolski reinstated into the team having not been registered to play in the Europa League.

More importantly for Celtic, last night saw the return of former Manchester United centre-half Nemanja Vidic.

The Serb was on the bench for last Thursday's clash at Parkhead and was allegedly involved in a post-match spat with Mancini after failing to get warmed up quickly enough in the closing stages of the game.

Last night's inclusion could indicate the 33-year-old is poised to return to the starting XI for the crucial second leg with Ronny Deila's men this Thursday.

Meanwhile, Swiss ace Xherdan Shaqiri - who banged in the opener in Glasgow - was on the bench along with a host of others who played at Parkhead last week.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Andrea Ranocchia and Rodrigo Palacio, who bagged two against the Hoops, also failed to feature, with Palacio not even making it on to the bench.

Speaking after the win, goal hero Icardi - who enjoyed an impressive night in Glasgow - said: : "We really wanted to get the win and came out to play for the three points.

"We created loads of chances in the first half, but the ball just did not want to go in. After the break, we were able to make the breakthrough - it's important to get the third win in a row.

"We've changed the way we play under Mancini and we're doing well. It wasn't easy at the start, but we're getting more used to it now."

Referring to Mancini's squad rotation, he added: "No player likes sitting on the bench but we have a 25-man squad and only 11 of us can play.

"Shaqiri has done really well in that position and today Mateo has scored, so we're all really happy."

Mancini admitted it was a struggle for his side. He said: "We made things complicated, but it wouldn't be Inter if we didn't do that.

"In the first half, we played well and deserved to be 2-0 up. After that, we dropped our levels.

"We didn't keep the ball enough, but I'm happy with the win.

"Mauro Icardi was wonderful and Mateo Kovavic played well."