After more than an hour of fear, Esposito's header broke down the Cremonese wall: Cagliari won the "final relegation battle" 1-0 and took a potentially decisive step towards staying in Serie A. The rossoblù had not won since January 31st.
Cagliari lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, with the Rossoblu charging around each other before kickoff . Two minutes later, they had a cleared corner, but Palestra controlled it and forced a save from Audero with his left foot, who fired over the crossbar. A thrilling moment in the 12th minute: a counterattack, Bonazzoli sent Okereke down the left, who, once inside the box, fell—alone—just before contact with Caprile. Doveri let play continue; there was no penalty.
Cagliari also came close in the 21st minute: a corner with a pass and a cross from Vandeputte, Okereke towered over Rodríguez in the center of the box, but his header was off-balance, and Caprile managed to block . Cremonese again in the 24th minute, with a throw-in (after Juan Rodríguez had blocked the ball in the box from Bondo) and a cross from the left, headed by Floriani Mussolini, forcing Caprile to make another save. The Domus crowd didn't like it.
The middle of the match favors Cremonese, with Cagliari struggling. Pisacane is also forced to make his first substitution in the 31st minute, with Mazzitelli suffering an injury (calf strain), replaced by Adopo . After a long period without making an appearance in the penalty area, Cagliari finds another shot on target in the 34th minute: Esposito's free kick from the right, Folorunsho's weak header at the far post, and Audero saves in two stages.
Folorunsho, again, in the 38th minute, fired into the box from a tight angle, but his cross-shot went wide (Deiola had previously been called offside). Two minutes later, Gaetano made a good central run, finding Baschirotto's sliding tackle on his left in the box, and the rebound blocked Folorunsho's curling right-footer, Luperto . In the 45th minute, Pezzella got ahead of Esposito, who was coordinating his volley, after Obert's cross. The half-time break followed three minutes of added time, with more than a few boos from the crowd.
