Cagliari's winning streak ends at three: they beat Roma 2-0 at the Olimpico, with a brace from the unstoppable Malen. The Rossoblù were unable to get into the game.
Pisacane made two changes to the team that had led to three consecutive victories : Dossena (returning after nearly a year out, his last appearance on March 15) and Juan Rodríguez replaced Mina, who was injured, and Luperto was transferred. The formation changed to 3-5-2. Roma started strongly, with Soulé breaking away on the right in the second minute and his dangerous cross crossing the penalty area untouched. Two minutes later, Malen attempted a shot from the same position, but Caprile saved. Dossena was booked in the sixth minute for a foul on Malen. Pellegrini's free kick sent the ball to the far post, and N'Dicka nearly made it 1-0 with a header in the six-yard box .
Roma were back in the 9th minute, with Malen beating Mazzitelli in the box on the right and finding Rodríguez's decisive save as he fired almost from the byline. Cagliari only made their presence felt after the quarter-hour mark, with a counterattack by Gaetano that, however, failed to find Kılıçsoy . Immediately afterward, Caprile mishandled a back pass and managed to clear it off the goal line: a huge risk for the Rossoblu goalkeeper.
Roma's goal was the logical consequence of a strong push from the Giallorossi. It came in the 25th minute, with Mancini's pass from the right to Malen, who outplayed Dossena (his second Cagliari debut was a difficult one) and with a delicate touch anticipated Caprile's arrival to make it 1-0 . The Dutchman, again in the 36th minute, met Cristante's cross from the right and nearly scored a brace. And a minute later, he was off to Zé Pedro and Dossena, with a cross from the byline that Mazzitelli saved to prove decisive.
Five minutes before halftime, Palestra also received a yellow card for a foul on Soulé. From a free kick, he cleverly played a pass to the right for Pellegrini's cross into the center, where Ghilardi headed it in. Caprile remained motionless, the ball going just wide . The half-time break followed by one minute of injury time.
The second half was played without changes, with Roma continuing to maintain possession for long periods. Gasperini made the first move in the 57th minute, with former Bayern Munich player Bryan Zaragoza making his debut for Pellegrini. Two minutes later, Pisacane responded with Sulemana replacing Mazzitelli . Before and after Cagliari's substitution, two more yellow cards were shown: Mancini for pushing Mazzitelli, and Gaetano for stopping Malen who had dribbled past him.
Malen is on fire, and in the 62nd minute, following a short corner, he even tries an overhead kick: his contact is off. Three more minutes pass, and Soulé plays it to Çelik, who runs into the box, skipping past two opponents, and crosses low. Malen and Dossena pounce on the ball, and the Roma striker gets the final touch, making it 2-0 . The Dutchman, by far the best player on the pitch, also comes close to scoring in the 67th minute, following a cross from the right, this time from Soulé.
Newcomer Zaragoza unleashed a right-footed shot from inside the box in the 69th minute that Caprile blocked. Cagliari made substitutions in the 73rd minute, bringing on Pavoletti for Kılıçsoy (who never looked like a threat this evening) and Idrissi for Esposito. They immediately found an opportunity with Palestra, who raced to the byline and crossed low, but Svilar parried it and Pavoletti was unable to intervene .
Cagliari's first real chance of any importance came in the 79th minute: Sulemana invented a powerful right-footed shot from about 25 meters out, hitting the top of the crossbar and going wide . And in the 83rd minute, a free kick won by Palestra (Zaragoza booked) found Gaetano's effort deflected to the far post, with Dossena tapping it in from close range. It was a great opportunity to get back into the game.
Immediately after Cagliari missed their chance, Gasperini brought on Venturino, Arena and El Aynaoui for Soulé, Malen and Cristante (84'). El Aynaoui immediately shot on goal, a right-footed effort blocked by Caprile. Pisacane's final substitutions were Zappa and Trepy for Zé Pedro and Gaetano, in the 87th minute. But the match was over for Cagliari and the four minutes of injury time did not change the outcome .