Cagliari picked up their third win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Hellas Verona on Friday evening thanks to a poacher’s goal from Roberto Piccoli, which has lifted them above Roma and temporarily into 12th place in the Serie A standings.
Only one point separated the two sides before kick-off, with both sides having won only one of their last five Serie A outings.
It was Cagliari who enjoyed the lion’s share of possession on the night, eventually finishing with 65% of the ball, while also attempting 14 shots over the 90, three of which ended up on target.
It took until the final quarter of an hour for the deadlock to be broken, though.
Piccoli rounded off a fine team man from a throw-in in the final third. Antoine Makoumbou and second-half substitute Mattia Felici enjoyed a neat exchange on the left flank, which freed the wing-back in the area.
Felici sent a low ball in from the byline, which was convertedPiccoli on his first touch from the edge of the six-yard box.
A one-goal lead was enough for the hosts to cling onto for the remainder of proceedings. They have jumped up to 12th place in Serie A as a result, and temporarily sit above Roma, who have slipped into 13th.
Verona, meanwhile, stay stuck in 16th lace with 12 points from 14 matches, and could mathematically end up in the relegation zone by the end of the weekend depending on upcoming results for Monza and Como.
Full-time: Cagliari 1-0 Verona
Piccoli 75’.
Player statistic
Răzvan Marin | 27' |
Roberto Piccoli (Assist: Mattia Felici) |
75' | |||
81' | Diego Coppola | |||
89' | Mathis Lambourde |