MATCH REPORT | Roma-Cagliari 2-0

The Rossoblu lost in Rome against the Giallorossi, who prevailed thanks to a goal in each half from Malen. Their next match is against Lecce, again on Monday evening, at the Unipol Domus.

THE CHOICES
Pisacane must change the defense, with Dossena and Rodriguez replacing the injured Mina and Luperto, who joined Cremonese on the last day of the transfer window. Zè Pedro and Obert are on the flanks. In the middle, Adopo Gaetano Mazzitelli will play with Kilicsoy, flanked by Esposito and Palestra.

OPENING SKIRMISHES
Right away, Roma presses forward, with Totti in the stands, naturally cheered on by the Giallorossi fans. Cagliari gets a couple of runs through Mazzitelli and Adopo but fails to finish. Then Roma stings through Soule in the 15th minute, while Caprile risks a clearance just steps from the line, only to be recovered in the nick of time. Dossena is booked early on for stopping Malen, who was running through. In the 22nd minute, Pisilli fires from the edge of the box, but Caprile saves on the ground.

ROME GOES FORWARD
Roma took the lead in the 25th minute with Malen cutting in and beating Caprile with a touch, making it 1-0. Danger arose in the 36th minute with Malen heading in from outside the area, but Cagliari played well and countered, although they still lacked the finishing touches to get close to scoring. Palestra was booked in the 40th minute for a foul in midfield. Pisilli had a go with a header, but the ball went wide following a cross from the right following a free kick. At halftime, the Giallorossi led 1-0.

FIRST MOVES
In the 57th minute, Roma brought on Zaragoza for Pellegrini, while Cagliari shortly thereafter replaced Sulemana with Mazzitelli, bringing on the returning January player, formerly of Atalanta and Bologna. Mancini was booked in the 58th minute for an unsporting act on Mazzitelli (his last action of the day), who was stopped without fouling according to the referee on the edge of the penalty area. Gaetano was also shown a yellow card for bringing down Malen in the attacking midfield.

ROMA DOUBLES THE LEAD
In the 65th minute, Malen doubles the lead: Celik dives in with the ball and splits the defense, passes into the middle, and Malen makes no mistake in front of goal. Pavoletti and Idrissi replace Esposito and Kilicsoy, Cagliari in a 4-3-3 formation with Palestra and Idrissi either side of the captain. They have an immediate chance, but the defense closes down at the last minute on Palestra’s low cross from the byline.

A BRAVE FINISH
Cagliari fought but couldn’t find the opening. First Svilar denied them, then Dossena narrowly missed the goal to close the gap. Roma brought on Venturino, El Aynaoui, and Arena in the 83rd minute for Soule, Malen, and Cristante. Caprile saved from El Aynaoui in the 86th minute, and Trepy and Zappa replaced Zè Pedro and Gaetano in the 87th minute. There was no time or space left to reopen the game, and the score ended 2-0.