The first victory of the season arrives at the Sardegna Arena after a difficult match: Joao Pedro (double) and Caceres sign the important success
CAGLIARI. Cagliari is not made for the faint of heart. To win his first match after 8 rounds he made the fans in the stadium and those glued to the TV or radio stations tremble: 3-1 the final result over Sampdoria, but how much suffering! Mazzarri’s team had risen to 2-0 but then the usual defensive amnesia had given the Genoese 2-1 and therefore still nightmares of a possible comeback to the supporters of the rossoblù faith. Instead it ended well thanks to Cragno and the super captain Joao Pedro who closed the accounts with the 3-1 at the end of the recovery. Cagliari rises to six and sees a pinch of light. But be careful, there is a lot of work to do because once again the flaws in the construction phase and especially in the defensive phase were evident.
On the field with the 4-4-2 and the three Uruguayans who had participated in the three matches of their national team for the world qualifiers and returned with Pereiro (instead unused) on Friday night in Sardinia with a charter flight from South America. A risky choice by Mazzarri but then rewarded because Nandez was absolutely extraordinary, Caceres scored a goal and Godin held the hut behind for an hour, then giving way to Ceppitelli
The game got off to a good start as Joao Pedro scored his fifth goal of the season by correcting Keita’s cross in front of goal in the fourth minute. The action was born from a wrong passage of Candreva intercepted by Dalbert who had immediately served the Senegalese. Before conceding the goal, the referee Marchetti had to resort to the Var because the linesman had erroneously reported an irregular position of the rossoblù number 9. It was Dalbert who had to leave the field immediately after a muscle strain, in his place Deiola with Lykogiannis climbed into the position of left winger.
Sampdoria accused the blow but at 13 ‘it shook going close to a draw on a counterattack: Candreva evaded Godin’s guard and kicked flat, but seizing the base of the pole to the left of Cragno. Cagliari suffers because it lowers the center of gravity and tries to sting only with long balls, systematically delivering the ball to the opponents. It takes about twenty minutes for Cagliari to settle down and try to better trim the opposing initiatives, also taking advantage of the good mood of Marin and Nandez and the punctual shots of Keita. The match became more balanced with a prevailing Sampdoria ball possession, also due to the dross of fear that has been accompanying the team since the start of the championship.
At the start of the second half Cagliari immediately did well with a maneuvered action on the right by Nandez and Caceres, with a final shot by Marin saved by Audero. At 12 ‘substitution: Godin, also tired from the commitments in the national team and for the return trip to Italy, gave way to Ceppitelli. After 5 ‘minutes Cagliari still close to scoring with Keita who took advantage of a rebound to shoot from the center of the area, but his conclusion was inaccurate. Immediately after a good combination between Deiola, Joao and Keita with the Senegalese striker very unmarked in the area but anticipated by a whisker from Audero outgoing.
Sampdoria tried to force the times in the deadly silence of the stadium. Rossoblù team and audience gripped by fear that melted into a deafening roar in the 29th minute when Caceres retrieved a ball at the edge of the area and kicked right towards the goal, also finding the help of a Thorsby deviation and the crossing of the posts of the Dorian gate: 2-0 for Cagliari.
But the race was far from over because Thorsby shortened his lead in the 37th minute by deflecting a cross from Caputo all alone in the center of the area. With 5 ‘from the end, the replacement of Keita with Pavoletti to give more height both in defense and forward. But the chills weren’t over because at 88 Candreva needed a golden ball for Colley, but he headed to the bottom. And at 91 ‘Caputo even found himself face to face with Cragno but the Cagliari goalkeeper miraculously rejected. From the nightmare of the equal to the safety goal scored in the 94th minute by Joao Pedro: Pavoletti’s detachment usual burning shot by Nandez and passing to the kiss for the Brazilian who signed the 3-1 of the first rossoblù win of the season and the sixth personal center in the league .