Hellas Verona moved up to fifth in Serie A after defeating Zdenek Zeman’s Cagliari 1-0 at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi.
The Sardinians dominated the opening exchanges but could not find a way to beat Verona goalkeeper Rafael.
After the break Verona came into proceedings, hitting the woodwork twice before a fantastic strike from Panagiotis Tachtsidis gave the Gialloblu the late victory.
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Verona
Rafael – 7 – Wall
Kept his side in the game in a frantic first half, denying Ibarbo twice in the opening exchanges. Was sharp to thwart efforts from Cossu and Sau in the first half, and his efforts were key in his side leaving with all three points.
Alessandro Agostini – 5 – Poor
Wasteful in possession and ineffective when crossing the ball, this is not a display the veteran left-back will want to reflect on.
Rafael Marques – 6 – Decent
Solid if unspectacular, the Brazilian stopper completed over 90% of his passes, and was strong in the tackle.
Rafael Marquez – 7 – Class
Even at the age of 35, the Mexico legend retains his ability to launch accurate long passes. The former Barcelona player’s raking passes to the left flank helped his team exploit Cagliari’s high line in the second half.
Vangelis Moras – 5.5 – Reliable
Worked hard on the right flank not only to deny Cagliari space down the wing, but also looked to drive on and help his teammates.
Gustavo Campanharo – 6 – Useful
Forced Cragno into a good save on 53 minutes with a smart shot, and was effective in the recycling of possession before being replaced with 20 minutes remaining.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis – 6.5 – Decisive
Even had he not scored a late winner with a thundering left-footed strike the Greek had a fine game. Always available to collect loose balls, and looked a real threat from the left wing. His dangerous cross on 55 minutes almost allowed Toni to break the deadlock, before the Greek took matters onto his own feet as the game drew to a close.
Artur Ionita – 5.5 – Anonymous
The Moldovan international could not be said to have had a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but after a fine start to his career at the Bentegodi the 24-year old will have reason to feel he could have done more.
Luca Toni – 6.5 – Ageless
A constant nuisance to the Cagliari defence, the former Bayern Munich man had a goal disallowed for offside, a header off the bar, as well as poking a right-footed shot wide in the first half when perhaps a left-footed effort may have seen the net bulge.
Juanito Gomez – 5.5 – Ineffective
Struggled to link with fellow strikers Lopez and Toni, completing only one pass to the latter across the 89 minutes he participated in. However, the Argentinian almost redeemed himself on 77 minutes, his header forcing Cragno into a fine save.
Nicolas Lopez – 5 – Invisible
Failed to make any impact on proceedings, and could have no complaints when his number went up on 68 minutes and he was replaced by Bosko Jankovic.
Substitutes
Emil Hallfredsson – 4 – Willing
Came on for the last 20 minutes and looked to link play between midfield and attack.
Bosko Jankovic – 5 – Impact
Joined proceedings along with Hallfredsson and posed a real threat to the Cagliari back-line with his direct running, as well as seeing a thunderous shot rebound off the crossbar just two minutes after entering the fray.
Nene – No rating
Late sub as the Gialloblu looked to run down the clock.
Cagliari
Alessio Cragno – 6 – Unfortunate
The 20-year old had a fine game, saving well from Juanito and Campanharo, before being beaten by a thunderbolt from Tachtsidis which he had no chance with.
Danilo Avelar – 6 – Threat
The Brazilian left back was a menace on the flank, getting forward with purpose and his passing leading to two dangerous shots.
Luca Rossettini – 5.5 – Flaky
Solid defensively, making two important interceptions to stop Toni from advancing on goal, the former Siena man was let down by his passing, only finding a team-mate with 60% of his efforts. Booked.
Antonio Balzano – 6.5 – Leader
A rock in the heart of the Cagliari defence, winning tackles and getting the ball forward quickly in his side’s attacking style.
Luca Ceppitelli – 4.5 – Costly
It’s perhaps harsh to judge a defender on his attacking efforts, but the truth is had Ceppitelli scored either of the free headers afforded him by the Verona defence (one in each half), the Rossoblu would probably be heading back to Sardinia with three points.
Lorenzo Crisetig – 6.5 – Encouraging
A promising performance from the 21-year old Inter loanee, completing the highest number of passes of any player as well as providing a threat with his accurate corners.
Albin Ekdal – 6.5 – Menacing
A constant threat in the space between the Verona defence and midfield, always looking to move the ball into wide areas.
Daniele Dessena – 5 – Sub-par
Always a willing runner, but worryingly lacking in quality in an attacking sense, giving away possession cheaply with ill-thought long balls.
Victor Ibarbo – 6.5 – Dangerman
Could have had two goals in the first 10 minutes, forcing Rafael into a great save before shooting straight at the Verona ‘keeper only minutes later after fashioning a chance for himself. Faded after the break, but his pace and skill were one of the main factors in his side’s early dominance.
Marco Sau – 6 – Unlucky
Can consider himself very unfortunate not to have opened the scoring, a low strike on 40 minutes bringing out the best in Rafael.
Andrea Cossu – 5.5 – Transient
Forced a good save from Rafael, and was unlucky to see a free-kick deflected wide, however the 34-year old faded badly in the second half against his former employers and was subbed.
Substitutes
Samuele Longo – 5 – Adequate
Replaced Sau on 62 minutes and was an occasional threat with his dribbling ability.
Joao Pedro – 5 – Water carrier
Kept things simple with short passes, but never threatened to light up proceedings.
Diego Farias – 4 – Isolated
Entered the field as momentum was swinging decisively toward the visitors, and was unable to get into the game.
