Cagliari mocked by Badelj in the 89th minute: Genoa wins 1-0, now the battle for salvation is a brawl

Cagliari mocked in the 89th minute in the direct match for salvation on the Genoa field. Not a nice Cagliari, which systematically skips the midfield and relies too much on long balls, but the result is severe. Liguri better in the first half, but without creating opportunities. In the second half the rossoblù control without running any risk and go twice as close to the advantage on the counterattack before Badelj's goal of the game which is worth three platinum points for the Grifone and reopens all the games in a safe way.

Now it is brawl: there are Cagliari at 28 points, Genoa and Salernitana at 25, Venice closes at 22, Salernitana and Venice have a game to recover. Without forgetting the 30-point Sampdoria, anything but calm.

THE FORMATIONS - Walter Mazzarri lines up Ceppitelli for the suspended Lovato at the center of the defense and confirms for the rest the formation that defeated Sassuolo: Cragno, Altare, Ceppitelli, Carboni, Bellanova, Marin, Grassi, Deiola, Dalbert, Joao Pedro, Keita .

Alexander Blessin's Genoa responds with 4-2-3-1: Sirigu, Frendrup, Ostigard, Bani, Vasquez, Badelj, Sturaro, Amiri, Galdames, Portanova, Ekuban.

The referee Paolo Valeri of the Roma 2 section directs the game.

FIRST HALF - Genoa starts strong, immediately attacking the Sardinians and creating the conditions for the goal with two good plays in the first 4 '. First a great advance from Altare denies Ekuban the opportunity face to face, then Portanova finds the space from the edge but throttles too much the conclusion that Cragno manages to block on the ground. At 13 'Ekuban still burns Ceppitelli in speed and flies through the central streets towards the goal, but the ball stretches favoring Cragno's exit.

After the initial outburst, the Genoa players calm down and Cagliari - with a Mazzarri on a rampage on the bench for the bad approach of his team - begins to raise the center of gravity. Sirigu made the first save to neutralize an insidious low cross by Joao Pedro, anticipating the rushing Deiola.

The biggest chance of the first half, however, comes at half an hour and is for the hosts. Everything starts from a ball naively lost by Dalbert, Amiri's right-footed shot touches the post with Cragno now beaten. Cagliari review in the final on the Joao-Dalbert axis, the shot from an excellent position by the number 10 is deflected for a corner.

It ends with a yellow card from Joao Pedro (useless charge on Frendrup with lost ball) a first half stingy of emotions.

SECOND HALF - Blessin must win it and at the beginning of the second half the Destro card is played, which enters in place of Amiri. But it is Cagliari immediately to go very close to scoring with Joao Pedro, who collects the service of an excellent Altar, focuses and starts a great right that is printed on the post.

Genoa manages to get the game back in hand, but once on the opponent's three-quarters miss too many balls and fails to create dangers for Cragno. So, when the game time is about to strike, a Blessin dissatisfied with his offensive quartet changes two others: Gudmunsson and Melegoni for Portanova and Ekuban.

But it is still Cagliari on the counterattack that touches the advantage: Keita overtakes Ostigard in speed, enters the area and looks for a touch from the right winger against which Sirigu opposes, on the ball rejected by Marin who from a very difficult position touches the post.

Genoa pushes forward again, but the very long series of crosses produces only a header abundantly at Ostigard's laro, before Mazzarri makes use of the first change, inserting Pavoletti for Keita in the 73rd minute. After 4 minutes it is also Rog's time instead of Grassi. And the Croatian goes to the restart well orchestrated by Joao Pedro and Marin, ball on the outside of the net.

In the last 10 'Blessin also plays the Yeboah card for Sturaro while Mazzarri raises Nandez and Walukiewicz after a long absence, in place of Bellanova and Ceppitelli. And Genoa creates the first "semi" opportunity for the second half in the 86th minute: a rebound favors Melegoni, who from the left puts a low cross on which Destro pounces on the near post but shoots high also for the precious opposition of Dalbert.

These are the premises of the sensational joke that arrives in the 89th minute: everything starts from the very active Melegoni on the left, assist for Destro whose shot back triggers a beat and retries on which Yeboah finds Badelj, who with a delicate touch from about ten meters find the low corner leaving no way out for Cragno. In the 4 'of recovery nothing happens, if not the change of Melegoni with Hernani.

And Cagliari, which a few minutes from the end thought of leaving Marassi with a 0-0 and a wasted opportunity to kill the small league, comes out with broken bones.

(Unioneonline / L)