After 53 years, Cagliari returns to winning ways in Serie A at the Bentegodi: against Verona it ends 0-2, with Pavoletti and Deiola scoring. A victory that mortgages salvation, it is +8 on the third-last team with four days to go.
First quarter of an hour without emotions, with Cagliari playing mainly on the counterattack. Then Nicola's team emerges, who in the 18th minute goes one step away from the lead with Marin who frees Luvumbo in the area for a right-footed shot saved by Montipò in a one-on-one . The same Verona goalkeeper two minutes later saves a shot from the edge again by Marin.
An injury takes Suslov out of the game in Verona in the 28th minute, Bernède comes on. Shortly after, Augello crosses and Adopo heads high. After half an hour, Cagliari takes the lead: a long ball on the right for Luvumbo, who controls it and crosses with his left foot to the center where Coppola and Ghilardi beat each other to free Pavoletti for an easy touch from two steps for 0-1 . The captain scores in his first start, he hadn't scored since December 22 against Venezia. There's a check to verify the positions, but the 0-1 is validated.
Verona's first shot on target came in the 41st minute, a free kick from about 25 meters by Duda parried by Caprile. In the circumstance, Zappa was cautioned for kicking the ball away after the foul . In the three minutes of injury time (also due to a physical problem for Luvumbo, the object of repeated racist chants from the Bentegodi ) Mosquera shot wide.
The restart was without any further changes, but in the 58th minute (after an uneventful start) Verona brought on Lazović and Lambourde for Bradarić and Mosquera. Pavoletti booked Coppola, who was also on a yellow card, and on the following free kick from the left Marin shot high (67') . Zanetti concluded the changes with Kastanos and Livramento for Serdar and Valentini, on the restart a header from Lambourde and an easy save from Caprile.
A quarter of an hour from the end, the first substitution for Cagliari, with Kingstone for Pavoletti (applauded by the 208 rossoblù supporters in the away section). Then in the 83rd minute Gaetano for Luvumbo, whistled, and Deiola for Marin. The number 70, just entered, suffers a bad foul in midfield by Ghilardi who goes straight for the man: a direct red card, sacrosanct. The last five minutes plus four of injury time with Verona down to ten men and in the 93rd minute Deiola doubles the score with a tap-in after a counterattack by Gaetano . And the triumph is complete.