Against the Modena of ex Tesser and Ionita came the first disappointment for Ranieri's Cagliari. At the "Braglia" it ends 2-0 for the hosts with one goal in each half, signed by Diaw from a penalty and Bonfanti.
The coach confirms the victorious formation with Spal for ten elevenths, with Luvumbo preferred to Falco alongside Lapadula and Rog to replace the injured Nandez. And the Croatian plays as an attacking midfielder, sticking to Modena Gerli's point guard. Or at least it tries. Because it is precisely the hosts led by the former rossoblù Tesser who command the game, even if to see a first attempt at a shot you have to wait for the 21st minute, with a high header from Falcinelli. In the 22nd minute, naivety by Makoumbou, who doesn't notice Falcinelli and, trying to sweep away, knocks down the attacker. After a long check at the Var, the referee decrees the penalty, scored by Diaw (25 ').
Cagliari's reaction was all in a scrum thwarted by Gagno and a cross-shot by Luvumbo, again intercepted by the goalkeeper. As if that wasn't enough, in the 47th minute the rossoblù were down to ten due to an at least questionable decision by the referee, who transformed a foul suffered into a foul committed and expelled Rog for a second yellow card.
At the start of the second half, Ranieri redesigned the team, with Lella and newcomer Prelec replacing Capradossi and Luvumbo. Back four then, but it was Modena who insisted, with Radunovic protagonist of a series of interventions on Giovannini and, above all, Cittadini. Cagliari never really dangerous.
In the 28th minute, Ranieri made another surprising double substitution with Millico and the newcomer Delpupo for an evanescent Lapadula and Azzi, while the armband ended up on Zappa's arm. But Zappa, in the 38th minute, lost the ball in midfield and Bonfanti, as soon as he entered, unleashed the 2-0 on the net. The finish is a target shot, but Radunovic and a little imprecision of the canaries avoid an even heavier passive. The travel taboo continues.