As they did last season (and in 2023-24), Cagliari celebrated mathematically relegated from the top flight on the penultimate matchday, a feat they achieved with a 2-1 victory over Torino. The celebrations at the Unipol Domus were kicked off by goals from Esposito and Mina, both of whom scored late in the first half.
Yerry Mina, who had to miss the match against Udinese due to an injury in the warm-up, is back in the 3-5-2. Before the teams entered, a tribute was paid to Leonardo Pavoletti , who was playing his last match at Unipol Domus (but was unavailable). In the stands, a tribute was also paid to Carlo Cogliolo, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 91: he was one of the entrepreneurs who saved the club from bankruptcy in 1986.
Cagliari made a positive move in the 10th minute, first with a nice dribble into the box by Esposito, whose diagonal shot was parried by Ebosse, then with a cross from the left that Mendy almost missed, but Ebosse himself almost converted the score to 1-0 with a fortuitous deflection that went just wide. Palestra came back on his left foot in the 20th minute and entered the box, with a low shot that Paleari saved .
On the half-hour mark, Simeone linked up with Vlašić, who played the ball back to him in the box on the left: his first-time shot hit the side-netting. Cagliari were in for a scare, as Torino picked up pace after half-time. Simeone again, in the 32nd minute, deflected a central ball that went over. And in the 35th minute, capitalizing on a mistake by Dossena, he entered the box with Mina closing him down: the ball passed past Caprile, and Obert was decisive in denying Zapata with an empty net .
Torino capitalized on their superiority in the 38th minute: a well-taken corner passed by former player Prati to Obrador, who from about thirty meters had plenty of time to control the ball, look at the goal, and unleash a splendid left-footed shot that was unstoppable for Caprile . It was a stunning goal, but Cagliari were left standing idly by.
But the Rossoblù didn't give up, and within a minute they had already equalized: Gaetano passed Esposito on the edge of the penalty area, and the number 94 turned and beat Paleari on his left with an angled right-footed shot . It was an immediate equalizer and a liberating goal after a difficult period of play.
The numerous interruptions resulted in "only" two minutes of injury time. But on the very last ball, Zappa was freed in the box by Dossena's pass from an Esposito cross. Paleari blocked the shot, the ball rising, and Mina tapped it in from close range . Cagliari were ahead at halftime, with the Colombian defender having scored on the penultimate matchday of last season (against Venezia, he secured survival).
The restart (with the central Curva Nord present, after a period of strike action) features Maripán replacing Marianucci. Within a minute, Cagliari came close to making it three, with Mendy heading wide from a corner from the left . Between the 57th and 58th minutes, two more chances were found from roughly the same area of the pitch: a right-footed shot from Palestra on the edge of the box that went just over and a high effort from Deiola.
D'Aversa made a double substitution in the 59th minute, replacing Prati (who was applauded by his former fans) and Zapata with Casadei and Adams. Adams, three minutes later, attempted a near-midfield shot but couldn't trouble Caprile, who easily saved . At the other end, a Maripán rebound was picked up by Deiola, whose right-footed shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Pedersen.
Pisacane's first moves had to wait until the 72nd minute, with Sulemana replacing Adopo and Folorunsho replacing Deiola. But it was another substitute, Adams, who almost equalized in the 75th minute: Zappa set him up on the right with an inadvertent mistouch, a first-time shot that Caprile did well to save at his post . Then Njie came on for Pedersen (77').
After a brief brawl in midfield, with play at a standstill, between Folorunsho and Maripán (the latter booked), Mendy (yellow card for time-wasting while leaving the field) and Esposito were replaced by another former great, Belotti, and Juan Rodríguez, in the 83rd minute. Kulenović then came on for İlkhan in the 86th minute. The five minutes of injury time (which became six minutes after a check for a possible handball by Folorunsho, in a scramble in the penalty area) did not change the outcome of the match: at the final whistle, the celebrations began, Cagliari were safe.