Too many absences for Cagliari , who have to surrender to Genoa's desire to celebrate, victorious in a match without history with a score of 3-0 .
To the list of those unavailable on the eve of the match (the suspended Luvumbo and the injured Pavoletti, Mancosu, Viola and Dossena), Ranieri, after finishing, must add Mina (muscle strain) and Jankto (sprained ankle). Thus, Cagliari presents itself with the three surviving central defenders (Hatzidiakos, Wieteska and Obert) , Di Pardo and Augello as wingers, Deiola and Prati in midfield, Oristanio and Gaetano in support of Shomurodov .
In the first quarter of an hour, teams were very short and goalkeepers were inactive. But in the 17th minute Genoa passed : cross from the right by Sabelli and the Norwegian Thorsby, with a header , anticipated Hatzidiakos and headed into the corner. Cagliari doesn't react and in the 27th minute the encore arrives, with Vasquez breaking down the left and serving the Danish Frendrup for the 2-0 . In the 46th minute, a few seconds before the final whistle, Ranieri's team also shows up, with a header from Deiola which Hatzidiakos misses. And at the break Genoa smiles with a double lead.
In the second half we start again with Zappa, Nandez and Lapadula on the pitch in place of Hatzidiakos, Di Pardo and Oristanio. Cagliari tries to reopen it, but after 8' Thorsby again comes close to making it 3-0 , this time Scuffet is good at making a diving save. Cagliari suffers from high balls, De Winter (12') always comes close to the post with his head .
But it's only a matter of time, because in the 18th minute the other man from the North, the Icelandic Gudmundsson, gets the hat trick, who wins a rebound and passes Scuffet on the exit. The goal practically ends the match. There is room for the entrances of Azzi and Kingstone, who are also the rossoblù who come closest to scoring the flag. It ends 3-0, salvation for Cagliari is still to be achieved.
