Claudio Ranieri’s tinkering proved inspired, as two Cagliari substitutes scored for the 2-1 victory over Genoa.
Both sides were promoted from Serie B over the summer, but had very different experiences so far. The Sardinians finally got their first win with an incredible comeback from 3-0 down to beat Frosinone 4-3, then knocked Udinese out of the Coppa Italia in extra time midweek. Nahitan Nandez and Alessandro Di Pardo were out of action, while Genoa missed Junior Messias, Mateo Retegui and suspended Mattia Bani.
Marco Mancosu spotted Josep Martinez off his line and attempted an audacious lob from midfield that was not far off target.
Genoa thumped the frame of the goal on 36 minutes, as a free kick found Johan Vasquez at the back post to control, let it bounce and strike on the half-volley from a tricky angle.
Cagliari had the ball in the back of the net just before half-time when Gaetano Oristanio sent Zito Luvumbo down the right, but it was disallowed for his push on Johan Vasquez to get away. It wasn’t a big foul, but the referee made the decision on the pitch.
Claudio Ranieri made two changes at half-time and they paid off immediately, as within three minutes Nicolas Viola had found the back of the net. Oristanio started the move in midfield and pretended to go for goal, instead a reverse pass releasing Viola down the right to place a left-footed finish into the far bottom corner.
The lead did not last long, as Edoardo Goldaniga misjudged the flight of a Stefano Sabelli cross, it bounced awkwardly and Albert Gudmundsson managed to volley his lob over Simone Scuffet all with his first touch.
Cagliari had a huge double opportunity with Josef Martinez making the reaction saves on both Gabriele Zappa and Luvumbo in the same move.
The Sardinians restored their advantage with the other half-time substitute, as Genoa struggled to clear the ball on the edge of the area, so Andrea Petagna laid it off for a low Zappa drive into the near bottom corner. It was Zappa’s first ever Serie A goal at the 70th appearance.
Paulo Azzi could’ve had another on the counter for Cagliari, only to drill wide, but Scuffet stuck out a leg to parry one-on-one with George Puscas to prevent the stoppage-time equaliser.
Cagliari 2-1 Genoa
Viola 48 (C), Gudmundsson 51 (G), Zappa 68 (C)
Player statistic
| 28' |  |
Ruslan Malinovskyi |
| Nicolas Viola (Assist: Gaetano Oristanio) |
 |
48' | ||
| 51' | |
Albert Gudmundsson | ||
| Gabriele Zappa (Assist: Andrea Petagna) |
|
69' | ||
| Edoardo Goldaniga | |
71' | ||
| 71' | |
Albert Gudmundsson | ||
| Andrea Petagna | |
90+1' | ||
| Nicolas Viola | |
90+3' | ||
| Simone Scuffet | |
90+7' |
Match statistic
