Cagliari failed to recover from their defeat at Monza and also lost at home to Bologna. Second-half goals from Casale and Bernardeschi (a penalty) punished Pisacane's team: the match ended 0-2.

Pisacane returns to the bench after his suspension and—more importantly—reverts to the 4-3-2-1 formation seen up until the away match in Monza . The first quarter of an hour is uneventful, with the only action being a scramble in the box in the 13th minute following a corner, where neither Mendy nor Deiola have the rebound to shoot into the six-yard box. Caprile then comes close in the 19th minute, when he passes it to Miranda, but Bernardeschi—off center on the left—misplaces the pass and essentially gives the ball back to him.

A shot wasn't seen until the 26th minute. Adopo crossed from the left into the center of the area, where Mendy coordinated a fine half-bicycle kick but it didn't hit the target. Odgaard found the target in the 29th minute, following a pass from Bernardeschi on the right, but Caprile blocked his post and put it out for a corner . The Cagliari goalkeeper also saved a Bernardeschi free kick in the 33rd minute, saving it in two stages without much difficulty.

Zé Pedro was booked (after Bernardeschi) in the 39th minute for a foul on Cambiaghi. At the other end, in the 42nd minute, Obert crossed for Mendy, who was beaten to the ball by Skorupski, and the assistant referee then flagged for a highly dubious offside . The half-time break went by without further incident.

Cagliari resumed the second half with Sugawara replacing Zé Pedro (booked) and Gagliardini replacing Winks (injured), but Bologna started the better. In the 48th minute, Obert headed past former player Zortea, and Darmian came on, his shot deflecting into the net. The goal, however, came in the 57th minute, with Casale leaping high to head home Miranda's corner from the left into the center of the box .

Pisacane saw no response and in the 67th minute brought on Kevin Carlos for a lackluster Maldini. His team, however, failed to create anything. For the final quarter of an hour, Fadera replaced Romano, while Bologna brought on Libra, Amondarain, and Alhassane in place of Zortea, Odgaard, and Miranda, switching to a 3-5-2. But Bernardeschi's shot was parried by Rodríguez with his arm, resulting in a penalty, and the number 10 himself doubled the lead, sending Caprile the wrong way (80') .

The match was now over, and the substitutions (Aurelio for Massolin in Cagliari in the 85th minute and Vitík for Darmian in Bologna, who also brought on Mbangula for Bernardeschi in the 88th minute) failed to shift the momentum of a match that the Bolognese dominated in the second half. And, for the third consecutive season, they won 0-2 at the Domus .

© Riproduzione riservata