Cagliari defeated Empoli 4-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Saturday afternoon.
A seven minute goal blitz just after the half hour mark saw Marco Sau open the scoring before a set piece double from Danilo Avelar with Albin Ekdal rounded off the scoring on the stroke of half time for a emphatic 4-0 victory.
Cagliari lost possession in their own half and Simone Verdi broke through the middle before the Torino loanee fed into Francesco Tavano, only for the striker to curl it high and wide over Alessio Cragno’s goal.
The hosts were getting into the faces of their opponent and created the better openings with the match simmering nicely but needing a goal to bring it to the boil.
It duly arrived a minute past the half hour mark but, to the dismay of the hosts, it came against the run of play with Zdenek Zeman’s men forging ahead.
Ekdal won the ball inside the Empoli half and quickly fed Sau on the left and the 26-year-old showed the Azzurri how to be clinical as he curled the ball into the far bottom corner past the despairing reach of Davide Bassi.
Cagliari have not lost this season when Sau has scored and the visitors relived the magic of their only other victory this campaign against Inter but this time in Tuscany as Empoli imploded.
First, Sau threw himself down dramatically just outside the box which was bought by referee Luca Pairetto. Avelar showed no mercy as he fired a sensational effort with his left into Bassi’s top right hand corner to double the Rossoblu’s lead.
A crazy seven minute spell was capped by a third goal after Albin Ekdal was sieved down by Mirko Valdifiori in the box.
Avelar repeated his spot kick success against Sampdoria last week to make it three goals in two games for the 25-year-old Brazilian.
Empoli were reeling and, like a boxer taking brutal punishment, were desperate for the bell to ring in order for Sarri’s men to catch their breath.
There was no such let up as another one-two release Ekdal with the Swede showing more desire than the two Empoli defenders and slotted in for 4-0 to Cagliari at the break.
Empoli had to accept they only had pride to play for in the second half and Tavano did everything right to try and cut the deficit only for a brilliant last ditch block by left back Avelar to deny him.
The second half unsurprisingly resembled more of a training match but Cagliari showing great desire to record a first clean sheet of the season and rise above Empoli and provisionally four points from the relegation berths with another sensational first half blitz.
