Bologna-Cagliari 0-0 at 45': Deiola out injured, few chances

The first half of Bologna-Cagliari ended without any significant opportunities, inevitably tied 0-0. Pisacane was forced to do without Deiola, who left the field injured in the 42nd minute.

Cagliari played a 4-3-3, with Esposito as the central striker, flanked by Palestra and Folorunsho . Kick-off followed a heartfelt minute's silence in memory of Alex Zanardi, who passed away yesterday and was originally from Bologna. Cagliari would have scored in the 3rd minute: a scramble in the box, Dossena's header was blocked by Deiola, who was found offside (twice). There was a rather lengthy check to assess a possible handball in the box early in the move, but then the referee gave the green light. Deiola was also found offside in the 10th minute, when he passed to Esposito, whose right-footed effort was parried by Pessina.

The 17th minute move should also have been evaluated for possible offside by Esposito: Adopo found number 94 in the middle, and he passed it to Deiola on the edge of the box, who had a clear goal but incredibly sent it wide to Pessina's right . He was in a safe position, Esposito perhaps not, but either way, it was a misplaced play and a serious error. A real shot on target was expected in the 26th minute, when Bernardeschi found space for a left-footed shot from the edge of the box and Caprile dived to block.

The two-minute cooling-off period in the 28th minute gave the teams a chance to cool down (Bologna finished 23rd) after a first half that was completely lacking in pace. And things didn't change when play resumed. Indeed, play was further disrupted by Deiola's right thigh injury, which forced him to make way for former player Sulemana in the 42nd minute .

Something happened—despite the very little that was shown in the first half—in the 44th minute: Palestra first ran down the flank and crossed for Folorunsho, who was beaten to the ball. On the counterattack, Bernardeschi crossed from the right for Sohm, who Mina did well to block. In the 45th minute, Gaetano played Esposito on the left in the box, but Pessina saved his left-footed shot in two stages . Then, there was a check for contact in the box between Domínguez and Mina, with the former falling; the referee allowed play to continue.

In the 49th minute, a right-footed shot from Sulemana ends just wide with a deflection.

The match goes to halftime after a good five minutes of injury time, given the numerous interruptions.