Cagliari's relegation battle becomes increasingly complicated: Sassuolo wins 2-1.
The rossoblù turned things around in the second half, after Esposito's illusory lead: the league table situation is now worrying
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A good first half wasn't enough for Cagliari, who ended the match in the lead with an Esposito penalty: they lost 2-1 to Sassuolo and are now in dangerous danger of being sucked into the relegation zone.
Cagliari lined up with a 3-5-2, with Deiola returning to midfield (his first start in 2026) . And the number 14, on his first play of the match, was immediately fouled by Pinamonti. From the free kick, the ball went in for Adopo, who controlled and shot into the box, but Murić saved. At the other end, in the 5th minute, Thorstvedt sent a cross narrowly wide from Mina. Deiola, who had recovered by then, collected the ball on the edge of the box in the 10th minute following a play by Palestra, who had played it to Adopo, but his right-footed effort was blocked.
Cagliari were in control. In the 15th minute, Palestra again replaced Adopo, with a deflected cross that found Esposito, but the former Romagna player was unable to save his shot . The move continued, with Esposito attempting another overhead kick, but the ball went high. Aside from a Berardi free kick easily saved by Caprile (17', it wasn't even a shot on target, but a cross), Sassuolo never made an appearance in the Rossoblu penalty area, with Pisacane's team controlling the play. And in the 22nd minute, from an Esposito corner, Mina's header was cleared almost into the six-yard box.
In the 26th minute, Folorunsho found Esposito in the middle, a clever move to get away from Idzes, who, to stop him, handled the ball, allowing Murić to save. It was a clear penalty, but Chiffi didn't see it on the spot. VAR called him back—even after a long time—and did justice, because the challenge was obvious. Esposito stepped up to take the penalty himself, but Murić guessed the shot to his right and touched it, but it wasn't enough: 0-1 in the 30th minute . The striker thus doubled his first-leg goal.
Palestra, returning from his dramatic Italy expedition, broke through on the right in the 34th minute and passed to Esposito in the center, who, instead of playing a pass to Adopo, back-heeled the ball. The move fizzled out, and it was a prime opportunity , as the number 8 would have found himself alone in the center of the penalty area. In the 42nd minute, Deiola, just inside the penalty area, was saved by Murić with his left foot. Sassuolo had a chance from a free kick in the 44th minute, when Laurienté fired directly at goal from the left, and Caprile controlled the ball over the crossbar. The half-time break followed three minutes of injury time, where in the 46th minute, Berardi's shot from a corner was deflection-deviated.
The second half was unchanged, but Sassuolo started significantly better. Following a foul on Thorstvedt by Rodríguez on the edge of the box, Berardi's free kick was deflected by the wall, and Caprile was unable to prevent the corner. From the corner, Mina parried Berardi's effort, but García picked it up 20 meters out and unleashed a low, diagonal left-footed shot that found the bottom corner with Caprile helpless . At the 50th minute, the score was 1-1, the Nerazzurri full-back's first Serie A goal.
The first substitutions came in the 58th minute, Matić and Coulibaly replacing Volpato and the former Romagna player. But Sassuolo had changed pace, and immediately afterward Berardi looked for Laurienté, who was stopped in the box, and the rebound to Koné saw the former Marseille player fire poorly over with his left foot. Cagliari didn't make a comeback until the 66th minute, when Palestra crossed from the byline for Deiola, who headed high but over the bar .
Sassuolo made two more substitutions in the 69th minute, Lipani and Bakola replacing Koné and Laurienté. Lipani himself, a minute after coming on, would have scored with a shot to the near post from the right, but was found offside. Borrelli (who played his last match on January 31st, then injured) also returned for Folorunsho for the final quarter of an hour, with Sulemana replacing Gaetano. But Sulemana himself lost a simple ball in the 78th minute, and Pinamonti received the ball in the box and unforgivingly fired a right-footed shot to make it 2-1 .
In the 83rd minute, Kılıçsoy replaced Zé Pedro, and in the 89th minute, Mendy and Zappa replaced Esposito and Adopo. But Cagliari was unable to create anything further. Until the 93rd minute, when Murić missed a harmless cross: Obert had a chance to put it in an empty net, but incredibly, he fired over with his left foot . The match ended after six minutes of added time.
