Andrea Belotti's first goal for the Rossoblu tied Lecce and Cagliari 1-1 at halftime. After a difficult start, Pisacane's team took control and dominated for nearly half an hour: Esposito and Palestra were among the most effective.
It was a nightmare start for the Rossoblù: Lecce were already ahead with their first chance. Ramadani played the former defender Sottil on the left, who skipped past Esposito and crossed from the byline to the free-flowing Tiago Gabriel, the central defender who had moved forward and was ready to head home the lead in the six-yard box to make it 1-0 in the 5th minute . Cagliari didn't immediately react, and they threatened again in the 16th minute when Sala crossed from the right and the other central defender Gaspar headed wide to Caprile's right. But in the 18th minute, Esposito came close to making it 1-1: from a Prati cross, he connected on the left, skipped past an opponent, and fired a powerful shot against the post, with Prati's subsequent shot deflected wide by Belotti.
A minute later, Cagliari were back. Esposito sent Adopo into action on the right, but Falcone denied him at the near post. The unstoppable Esposito again in the 22nd minute, stealing the ball from Ramadani in the box and playing it to nearby Belotti, but Coulibaly was there to get there. From Prati's corner, a cross into the center, and Deiola's header forced Falcone to make a miracle save, the ball going into the bottom corner . Lecce, after struggling for ten minutes, came back in the 29th minute with a Coulibaly shot from the edge of the box saved by Caprile.
Cagliari were back in the 32nd minute, with Palestra beating Gallo and firing a left-footed shot that Falcone blocked. The next move led to a goal: Folorunsho took center field and advanced, a great through ball to the right found Palestra, who left Gallo on the spot and crossed for Belotti to easily tap in, 1-1 and the striker's first goal for the Rossoblu . Palestra was unleashed, nutmegging Gallo in the 41st minute and crossing into the center, where a deflection found Folorunsho for a sure-fire shot that was blocked for a corner by Pierotti. Another exceptional Palestra in the 44th minute forced Gallo to sit down, and crossed for Esposito, who was saved by Coulibaly.
In the 45th minute, before two minutes of injury time, Esposito's great curling right-footer hit the post again.