A resounding Cagliari side earned another three points, their third win in their first four Serie A matches: they beat Atalanta 1-2, with former club Daniel Maldini scoring the winner.
In the end, Pisacane chose not to immediately launch Mina, instead using the same lineup seen against Parma, Inter, and Lecce . Scamacca immediately threatened, testing Caprile with a shot from fifteen meters in the sixth minute, and heading a Rowe cross wide in the ninth. But Cagliari had the best chance of the first quarter of an hour: in the 15th minute, Romano received the ball from thirty meters and unleashed a powerful, almost low, left-footed shot that Carnesecchi had to stretch to tip out for a corner .
Cagliari took the lead in the 19th minute: a splendid pass from the back by Zé Pedro found Adopo in a safe position. One of the many former players ran down the right and crossed into the center, where Mendy fired home with his left foot . The ball hit the crossbar, then went in, and VAR validated the decision (as the assistant had done) after verifying that Adopo was not offside. The Senegalese striker, against whom he had scored a brace on April 27 at the Domus, repeated his feat against Atalanta.
The Rossoblù (whose new third kit was recently unveiled) returned in the 27th minute, with Maldini pirouetting past Samardžić and then sending a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the corner. Kessié, who had been treated for an ankle injury midway through the first half, attempted a 16-yard shot in the 35th minute, but it went over. The Bergamo team attempted several crosses, with Cagliari trying to counter, particularly with their two central defenders Deiola and Rodríguez. But in the 41st minute, the score was 1-1: a misunderstanding between Adopo and Fazzini (resulting in a foul), a quick counterattack to find De Ketelaere in the middle, and the rebound eventually fell to Scamacca, whose right-footed shot, deflected by Obert, found the net . And so it was time for the break.
Atalanta started the second half with no changes, with Kessié playing Samardžić in the 48th minute. His right-footed shot took a deflection, and Rowe narrowly missed it in the six-yard box with a slide tackle. Assistant coach Rossi's flag denied Mendy the joy of a brace in the 52nd minute, flagging him for offside (though it was there, albeit just barely) on Romano's pass, which had left him alone in front of Carnesecchi . Pisacane came off the bench to bring Fadera in, and he came on in the 57th minute for Fazzini.
After the first penalty awarded in Serie A this afternoon, the one Colombo missed in Genoa vs. Frosinone, the first penalty scored has also arrived. It's for Cagliari: Deiola's header from a free kick taken at the far post is blocked by Kolašinac's (very high) arm. Referee Arena thinks for a moment and then points to the spot, where former great Maldini takes the penalty, waiting for Carnesecchi to dive and fire a central shot past him: 1-2 in the 61st minute . His second goal in five days, following the one that secured Lecce's victory.
A chance injury to his hand in a collision with Adopo led Zé Pedro to request a substitution: in the 68th minute, Sugawara came on, making his Serie A debut to become the first Japanese player to play for Cagliari. Atalanta simultaneously brought on Bernasconi and Krstović for Kolašinac and Scamacca. After a chance for Obert (74'), a left-footed shot saved for a corner by Carnesecchi, Atalanta nearly leveled the score with Samardžić, who excelled in a tight space with three opponents in the box before flicking a shot just wide . The Serbian then made way for Raspadori.
In the 79th minute, Pisacane removed the two scorers of the evening, Mendy and Maldini, for Kevin Carlos and Kofler. A five-man defense was used to contain Atalanta's onslaught, and the attack threatened in the 84th minute with a cross from Raspadori for fellow substitute Krstović, whose header was saved in two attempts by Caprile. A minute later, Kessié turned in the box, firing a left-footed shot into the side-netting (then replaced by Pašalić). Added time (5') began with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box from Raspadori, which went just over. Bellanova's 95th-minute effort, which ended the struggle and secured a resounding victory, also went just wide .