Cagliari earned three golden points on matchday twenty-two of the Serie A championship. The away match against Fiorentina ended 1-2 for the Rossoblù: Kiliçsoy scored in the first half, then Palestra doubled the lead in the second half and Brescianini only managed to reduce the score.

LINE-UPS – For the match at the Franchi , Fabio Pisacane selects Caprile, Palestra, Luperto, Mina, Zè Pedro, Obert, Mazzitelli, Adopo, Gaetano, Kılıçsoy, S. Esposito from the first minute.

Fiorentina coach Paolo Vanoli responded with De Gea, Dodò, Comuzzo, Pongracic, Gosens, Mandragora, Fagioli, Ndour, Solomon, Gudmundsson, and Piccoli. Referee Marco Guida of the Torre Annunziata section of the club was in charge.

FIRST HALF – After a minute's silence for Viola president Rocco Commisso , who passed away a few days ago, both teams started strongly. Gudmundsson had an early shot from distance, but the ball grazed the post to Caprile 's left. Cagliari responded immediately, with Palestra speeding into the box and unleashing a right-footed shot, but Pongracic provided a providential save to turn it behind for a corner.

After a brisk start, the match settled into a slower pace, with Viola trying to feed Piccoli and Cagliari looking for Kiliçsoy . Both defenses, however, managed to keep their guard up, and chances were few and far between.

But things changed in the 31st minute. Palestra made a familiar run down the right, and his perfect cross into the box found Kiliçsoy, who headed the ball in. Comuzzo deflected the ball past De Gea, giving the Rossoblu the lead .

Viola's reaction was immediate: Gudmundsson tried a shot from close range, but Caprile made a brilliant save and denied him . Then Piccoli attempted a shot from the edge of the area, but the former great (along with Mina ) slipped and the ball went just over. At the end of the half, the home team poured forward in search of an equalizer, but at halftime the scoreboard read 0-1.

SECOND HALF – The second half starts off strongly for Cagliari: after less than 2 minutes Palestra completes a fine move led by Obert and finished off by Esposito and beats De Gea with a right-footed shot for the second time , scoring his first goal in Serie A.

In the 53rd minute, the Rossoblù nearly made it three. Adopo started a great counterattack, and the ball reached Mazzitelli , who looked for Kiliçsoy. The Turk fired at goal, but the Viola defense managed to block, with the ball going just over.

In the 64th minute, Pisacane brought on Sulemana , who had just returned to Cagliari, in place of Esposito . Vanoli had previously brought on fresh forces ( Fabian, Brescianini , and new signing Harrison ) to try to turn the game around. In the 67th minute, Viola came close to scoring: Gudmundsson curled a shot from the edge of the area, but the ball hit the post.

After three minutes, Pisacane made another substitution: Kiliçsoy was replaced by Borrelli . In the 74th minute, Fiorentina closed the gap : Solomon played a good job for Dodò , the Viola number 2 cut in from the right with a low diagonal shot that crossed the entire area, finding the incoming Brescianini , who beat Zé Pedro from two steps out and beat Caprile. The home team believed in their chances and threw themselves forward: in the 78th minute, captain Mina saved another Brescianini attempt almost on the line, then Caprile closed the door. Pisacane tried to give his team some more breathing space by bringing on Prati, Idrissi, and Zappa in place of Obert, Mazzitelli, and Palestra .

A thrilling finale: Mina argues with Guida and gets a yellow card ( Caprile had previously been booked for time-wasting), then Zé Pedro is also booked for fouling Gudmundsson . Cagliari must fight through seven minutes of injury time, but the final chances fall to the Sardinians, through Adopo and Borrelli. And at the final whistle, it's a Rossoblu celebration.

(Unioneonline/lf)

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