After nearly 55 years, Cagliari and Saint-Étienne face off again for the inaugural Gigi Riva Trophy: at halftime, the score is 1-0, thanks to a fantastic goal from Adopo. Before the match, after the show, the memories of Gattuso and Buffon were shared .
Adopo's first chance in a melee came in the 5th minute, but his attempt was blocked. In the 10th minute, again from a corner, Lamba headed in and was blocked by Caprile. Saint-Étienne made an immediate substitution, with Bernauer in the 12th minute suffering an injury (right thigh) and Nade coming on for him. Immediately after the substitution, play stopped for a minute, with the entire stadium (players included) applauding the Legend while the Curva Nord chanted "There's only one Gigi Riva."
Cagliari took the lead in the 20th minute: Deiola crossed from the right but couldn't reach it; the rebound hit Nadé, sending the ball just outside the box, where Adopo—with plenty of space at his disposal—placed a soft left-footed shot into the top corner . A splendid goal from the midfielder, who had already scored against Galatasaray ten days ago. The French responded in the 26th minute, with a corner to the far post, and Boakye volleyed wide.
Piccoli nearly doubled the lead in the 35th minute, launching himself deep down the center-right and firing toward the near post, but Larsonneur saved. The same center-forward was down in the 41st minute after a fortuitous challenge, touching the back of his back . When play resumed, Caprile denied Cardona's right-footed effort. Cagliari responded almost immediately: Luvumbo found Deiola, whose right-footed effort was lifted for a corner. The half-time break was interrupted by injury time.
