A fantastic performance by Cagliari earned them a return to victory, the first since September 19th: 1-0 against Roma, reduced to ten men at the start of the second half, with Gaetano deciding the score late on.
Cagliari— set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation —started well and had a great chance in the sixth minute, a through ball to the left for Obert, who freed Adopo in the center of the box. The midfielder waited a moment too long to fire, and when he did, it was blocked for a corner. A minute and a half later, Borrelli raced toward goal following a pass from Folorunsho, but N'Dicka blocked it for a corner. Borrelli fired again in the 12th minute, almost from the edge of the box, with his left foot: it went over.
Cagliari again in the 16th minute, Palestra advanced to the edge of the box and forced a save from Svilar with his left foot. In the 23rd minute, Folorunsho won a free kick from the edge of the box, which Esposito kicked into the wall. On the following cross from the right, Folorunsho, completely free in the center of the area, failed to put any power into his header, and Svilar had no trouble making the save .
Pisacane's team created numerous opportunities. In the 27th minute, a great pass from Palestra freed Esposito in the box on the right, but Svilar saved . The striker a minute later acrobatically deflected a powerful cross from Obert, but it didn't quite connect: another save. Roma rallied on the half-hour mark, with a cross from the left to the far post for Soulé, who had a shot saved by Caprile. Finally, in the 43rd minute, Pellegrini's shot was blocked.
The second half began similarly to the first, with Cagliari on the attack: one minute later, a free kick won by Palestra resulted in a double rebound, with N'Dicka finishing before Svilar saved. Then, in the 49th minute, Folorunsho made a great run down the left and—after beating two opponents—was challenged first by Mancini and then (most importantly) by Çelik. The referee awarded a penalty, but VAR indicated that the contact was outside the area but that it was a foul with a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The penalty was overturned, a free kick on the edge of the box was awarded, and Çelik was also sent off . Esposito's shot was saved by Svilar.
Before the free kick, Gasperini had tried to rebalance the team by bringing on Rensch for Baldanzi (who was deployed as a central striker, a playmaker like him). After a sensational opportunity for Obert in the 59th minute ( a splendid dribble in the area from N'Dicka and Cristante, with a left-footed shot saved by Svilar with a miracle ), Roma brought on Dybala, Ferguson and El Aynaoui to give strength to the attack, removing Pellegrini, Soulé and Cristante (62').
Ferguson himself, in the 67th minute, tried to race towards goal: he skipped past Rodríguez, but Luperto did a brilliant job closing him down. A minute later, Obert provided a great pass for Folorunsho, whose left-footed shot was parried by Svilar, and Zappa was beaten to the tap-in: another brilliant chance for Cagliari . Esposito, in the ensuing move, fired a fine shot just wide.
Pisacane's first substitutions came in the 69th minute: Zappa was replaced by Prati, and Borrelli by Gaetano. Gasperini's final substitution was Ghilardi for Tsimikas (73'). Three minutes later, Palestra made a spectacular move, dribbling right past Ghilardi and firing a left-footed shot from a tight angle that went just wide—a round of applause . Obert was then replaced by Idrissi.
Palestra, with a sensational stride, leaves Ghilardi on the spot: the two touch, but Zufferli, amid protests, lets the game continue . A heated argument ensues in the penalty area, which is settled with yellow cards for Hermoso and Folorunsho, who then continue to clash. VAR makes no impact on this.
In the 82nd minute, Cagliari's all-match pressure finally paid off: Esposito's corner, slammed home perfectly at the far post, was controlled and crossed by Gaetano, who headed it past a swarm of Giallorossi legs, tipping it onto the post to make it 1-0 . The 16,255 at the Domus stadium went wild. Number 70 celebrated by removing his shirt: he was booked.
Another brawl erupts in the 90th minute: Folorunsho is suffering from cramps, Palestra sends the ball out, but Hermoso tries to keep it in play for a counterattack. A heated argument ensues, and the referee doesn't issue any more cards, with the Spaniard already booked . Then, with the clock ticking to the 92nd minute, Palestra and Folorunsho come off for Di Pardo and Kılıçsoy. The game continues until the 97th minute, before the final celebrations begin.
