Esposito's goal isn't enough for an unlucky Cagliari, Como wins 1-2
The Rossoblù were beaten by a rebound that favored Baturina and a spectacular shot from outside the box by Da Cunha.Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
A strong Cagliari side surrendered to Como, who reaffirmed their bid for fourth place: Esposito's goal wasn't enough for the Rossoblù, who were beaten 2-1 by goals from Baturina and Da Cunha.
Cagliari lined up with a 4-3-3, although Folorunsho often played more centrally than Esposito, who was supposed to be the center forward . Como scored on their first move: in the 14th minute, Nico Paz played Da Cunha into the box, who found the rebound off Dossena. A rebound freed Baturina, whose low shot beat Caprile to make it 0-1.
Aside from Adopo's right-footed shot just inside the penalty area (18', saved by Butez), Cagliari didn't make much of an impact near the goalkeeper. Rodríguez, however, made a positive impact with a couple of blockages on Da Cunha. In the 31st minute, Cagliari had three chances: first, Folorunsho volleyed a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and beat Esposito, then Sulemana broke into the box and was blocked as he attempted to shoot , then Palestra (but was offside) crossed low and Sulemana missed.
An injury slowed Perrone down twice. He seemed ready to leave the pitch, with Vojvoda called to the sidelines, but instead decided to come back for a couple of minutes. Then, in the 36th minute, he was substituted . This led to the first half ending with three minutes of injury time.
The second half continued without any further changes. Como threatened in the 51st minute when Sulemana played a cross-field pass to Jesús Rodríguez, whose right-footed shot from the edge of the box flew over. Just as Pisacane had called Kılıçsoy onto the pitch, Cagliari equalized: Esposito played in a pass from Adopo and sent Palestra running. Palestra accelerated and crossed to the far post for Obert, who swatted the volley away, but it turned into a perfect pass in the center of the box for Esposito, whose header beat Butez, who touched it on the post but couldn't prevent the 1-1 draw . Number 94 scored his fourth goal, and Cagliari regained the lead in the 56th minute.
Como's response came with their best player, Nico Paz, who in the 59th minute skipped past an opponent and fired a left-footed shot from the edge of the area: Zé Pedro sacrificed himself, heading the ball away and remaining on the ground for a few seconds after the blow. The attacking substitution that Pisacane was supposed to make was instead made by Fàbregas in the 62nd minute, replacing Douvikas with Morata . Two minutes later, Morata received the ball from a free kick and turned it right, but Rodríguez blocked it for a corner.
Doubts arose in the 65th minute, following Palestra's run into the penalty area, which was tackled by two opponents: referee Marinelli, amid protests, gave the Cagliari number 2 a yellow card for diving. He did the same six minutes later for Esposito, who had been tripped – clearly – by Ramón on the edge of the penalty area: a serious yellow card, as the scorer of the 1-1 was already on a booking and will miss the Pisa match .
Pisacane's first substitution was delayed until the 73rd minute, when he replaced Zé Pedro with Zappa. But three minutes later, Como regained the lead with a spectacular effort from Da Cunha, who unleashed an unstoppable left-footed shot from about 25 meters out for Caprile, almost into the corner . An incredible goal, coming at a time when the visitors weren't creating much.
Before the restart, Cagliari made three more substitutions: Kılıçsoy, Idrissi, and Trepy came on in the 78th minute for Liteta, Juan Rodríguez, and Esposito. In the 81st minute, Como also made a triple substitution: Nico Paz, Alberto Moreno, and Baturina went off, replacing Diego Carlos, Álex Valle, and Sergi Roberto. A Trepy corner found Zappa at the near post, and Kempf headed in the second, beating Kılıçsoy in the six-yard box. From a Trepy cross, Butez produced a miracle in the 86th minute, denying Adopo, who had found the back of the net with a powerful right-footed shot, to make it 2-2 .
Butez's brilliant save was initiated by Idrissi, who ran down to the byline, where he had been struggling with a left knee injury (which had already been sore a couple of minutes earlier). He got up and signaled to come back, but Pisacane replaced him anyway for Pavoletti . The six minutes of injury time began with a Morata free kick (fouled by Dossena, who was booked, on Jesús Rodríguez) that sailed over the crossbar. In the third minute, a cross from the right found Pavoletti, and Butez anticipated him, also drawing the foul.