In a spectacular match, Cagliari beat Atalanta 3-2 and moved eight points clear of the relegation zone: safety is within reach. Borrelli, who came on for Mendy, scored twice (the first after 16 seconds), was the decisive goal.
Among the big changes to Cagliari's lineup, Fabio Pisacane having done without Marco Palestra , is Paul Mendy's starting debut, having only played as a substitute until now. And after 16 seconds, despite Atalanta taking the kick-off, he's incredibly already scored. Adopo recovers, Folorunsho passes the ball back to him, and the number 8 crosses from the right (with plenty of space) into the center of the area, where Mendy, completely alone, heads it in. Cagliari got off to a sensational start, scoring the fastest goal in the club's Serie A history .
Mendy barely had time to record his precocious record before he struck again in the 8th minute. Raspadori gave Cagliari a corner with a completely misplaced back pass. From the corner, Deiola fired into the box, but Carnesecchi saved. Scamacca failed to clear, and Mendy, with a deflection off Djimsiti, found the right path to make it 2-0 . It couldn't have started better.
Atalanta's first chance came in the 23rd minute, with a free kick from Raspadori on the right, Djimsiti's header going over at the far post. But Cagliari could have made it three in the 29th minute on a counterattack started by Folorunsho, with Esposito playing it to Adopo on the right, alone in front of Carnesecchi, who passed it to Deiola in the center of the box, who was beaten to the tap-in .
A low, diagonal shot from Folorunsho in the 37th minute went just wide, a sign of Cagliari's excellent control of the game. But, surprisingly, Atalanta pulled one back in the 40th minute: De Ketelaere's shot on the left was blocked, but the ball fell to Scamacca, who slotted the ball into the far post to make it 2-1 .
The striker halves the deficit and the match changes. Atalanta, incredibly, find the equalizer in the 45th minute: Cagliari are caught out by a quickly taken free kick in midfield, the former Bellanova player finds Scalvini in the box on the right and his low cross finds Scamacca – lost by Zé Pedro – who turns it in . He also scores a brace. In the five minutes of injury time, which later becomes six, Bellanova crosses (47') and Rodríguez risks something, but Caprile saves his deflection in the center of the area.
Mendy was out for the second half, having been caught out by a thigh problem that needed to be evaluated towards the end of the first half. Borrelli took his place, taking a bit longer than his teammate but still scoring immediately: after 87 seconds. Deiola's recovery set up Folorunsho, who skipped past Scalvini with a sombrero and raced towards the penalty area, where he sat down Djimsiti on the edge of the box and fired diagonally, but Kolašinac was able to block. Borrelli, however, was there to collect the rebound: his shot was a winner, Cagliari making it 3-2 early in the second half, and it was another explosion of joy from the crowd .
Obert's corner in the 54th minute was deflected wide by Zé Pedro. Then, in the 61st minute, two substitutions were made for each side: Cagliari substituted former players Palestra and Ibrahim Sulemana for Esposito and Deiola , while Atalanta substituted wingers Bellanova and Zalewski for a striker, Krstović, and a full-back, Zalewski. But it was another former player, Adopo, who had a good chance in the box in the 61st minute: his shot was blocked by Scamacca.
More changes in the 73rd minute: Cagliari's Juan Rodríguez fails to make the cut and makes way for Dossena, while Atalanta brings on Éderson and Kossounou for de Roon and Kolašinac. Then (77') Samardžić replaces De Ketelaere, but at the same time Borrelli also leaves the field with a left thigh injury: Belotti makes way for a round of applause. And Gallo could have sealed the win with the first ball, but in a one-on-one situation with Carnesecchi (after Scalvini slipped and launched him), he fails to get past him and the move fizzles out .
Ten minutes from the end, Atalanta had a golden opportunity to equalize: Raspadori's free kick was passed to Kossounou, who then found Pašalić with his back to goal, just inside the box, and he coordinated his play and fired an overhead kick that just wide of Caprile's right . A minute later, Atalanta played on the edge of the box to free Krstović, who picked up the ball and fired with his right foot. It looked like the score was going to be 3-3, but Caprile was there to deny him. A weak Raspadori shot in the 83rd minute was easier to save.
Caprile was there again in the 89th minute, when Scamacca's header from a cross from the right forced him into a difficult save to tip the ball wide . Scamacca headed again from the corner, this time wide. In the six minutes of added time, a shot from Kossounou was deflected for a corner, but was subsequently flagged for offside. And in the 95th minute, Caprile made a save from a scramble in the box.
The injury time stretches to seven minutes, with a brief brawl breaking out between the benches, and in the 97th minute, Caprile (who hadn't come out at his best to deal with Zalewski's pass) regains his position and denies Raspadori a 3-3 draw after he had fired a powerful shot. The referee then checks the ball, but it doesn't help: instead, the final whistle blows, marking a remarkable victory that secures survival.