Cremonese-Cagliari ended 2-2, with a great comeback by the rossoblù: two goals down at half-time, they equalized in the 88th minute through Yael Trepy, who had just come on as a substitute in his first-team debut.
Cagliari lined up with a 3-5-2, but with different players : the defense was Luperto, Mina, and Rodríguez, Palestra dropped to the left to keep Zappa on the right, Gaetano played as a midfielder, and Luvumbo supported Borrelli. The start was a nightmare; after 85 seconds, Borrelli himself was booked (fouling Johnsen), and by the fourth minute, Cremonese was already ahead. On a casual pass, Mina let the ball slip past him, Vardy rounded him in the box and collided with Caprile, leaving the ball open for Johnsen to tap into an empty net . The Colombian defender, on his return, made a serious error.
Cagliari had a very poor first quarter of an hour, attempting to shake things up in the 16th minute with a Gaetano corner headed over by Borrelli. A good chance came in the 28th minute, when Adopo passed the ball over to Zappa in the box, who then turned with his right foot and was blocked by Bianchetti. However, Cremonese doubled their lead in the 29th minute: Luperto in midfield was robbed by Bonazzoli, and at the edge of the box, Vardy opened up on the right, taking advantage of Rodríguez's gap and slotting the ball past Caprile (who was not blameless) at the post . Cagliari made too many mistakes, and they paid the price as they did at 1-0.
A curling left-footed shot from Luvumbo, saved by Audero (31'), was the first attempt after going two goals down, but it wasn't exactly a dangerous move. They tried again in the 37th minute, but the ball went just wide. Cagliari had their real chance in the 43rd minute, with a free kick that Luperto flicked on and Rodríguez headed in just enough for Audero to clear it, with Floriani then clearing it . In injury time, Borrelli pulled back the ball for Gaetano's left-footed shot from the edge of the box, which went wide.
The second half saw Esposito replace Mina, who was clearly not in the game, and Cagliari switched to a 4-3-2-1. The move paid off immediately: within a hundred seconds, Zappa had a good run in the box, but couldn't get a shot off. On the counterattack, Bonazzoli found Johnsen, whose shot was weak and Caprile saved. The goal that closed the gap came in the 51st minute: Adopo completed a one-two with Borrelli and moved centrally, firing a low left-footed shot to make it 2-1 . This time, it was the Cremonese defense that made the mistake, too static.
The goal changed the course of the match and revitalized Cagliari, with Luvumbo's left-footed shot going wide in the 55th minute. Then the Angolan came off (for Obert), while Mazzitelli replaced Prati. Palestra switched flanks, moving from left back to right winger and immediately threatening: in the 59th minute, he received the ball from Borrelli and crossed to the far post, where Esposito, completely alone, attempted an acrobatic shot but glaringly missed .
At the hour mark, Nicola made a triple substitution: Barbieri, Vandeputte, and Zerbin replaced Johnsen, Bondo, and Pezzella. The Grigiorossi came back in the 53rd minute, with a cross from the right and Vardy sliding in at the far post, shooting wide. Pisacane, however, in the 65th minute, brought on Kılıçsoy for Gaetano. The Turk, with his first touch, snatched the ball from Vandeputte and crossed for Esposito, who would make it 2-2, but he was offside .
Kılıçsoy, again, in the 78th minute, plays the ball to Palestra, who opens it up on the right to Zappa: he controls it and shoots, just wide, despite a great move by Cagliari. A minute later, Zerbin runs down the pitch and his shot is easily saved by Caprile. A good counterattack in the 83rd minute, the ball is played to Zappa, who shoots terribly: he then comes off, and Trepy comes on for his full debut .
Cagliari had a chance to equalize in the 86th minute, and it was a huge one: a cross from the right that went in, Mazzitelli controlled in the center of the area and turned it towards goal, only to be blocked by Audero. The next chance, however, was the one to win: Mazzitelli's pass was controlled by Trepy on the edge of the area and, just inside, beat Audero with his left foot . An incredible goal on his professional debut for the 2006-born French striker, who had already scored in the Coppa Italia Primavera final, and the scoreline was 2-2 in the 88th minute.
Immediately after the equalizer, referee Bonacina sent off Luperto for a challenge he deemed a serious foul on Payero. However, VAR called him back because the defender pulled his leg back early, and he was shown a yellow . Nicola took off Payero and Vardy in the 93rd minute, bringing on former player Grassi and Sanabria for the final whistle. And in the 95th minute, Vandeputte had the chance to make it 3-2, freed alone in front of Caprile on the left, but incredibly crossed wide.
