Cagliari beat Hellas Verona 1-0 at the Stadio Is Arenas on Wednesday evening.
Nene gave the home side the opening goal and what proved to be the only goal with a well directed header in the first half.
It was the home side who had the first opportunity of the evening when Agim Ibraimi found Nene on the edge of the box who saw his attempt saved by Rafael in the Verona goal.
The Sardinian side maintained their pressure and tested Rafael once again; Albin Ekdal drilling an effort that was saved in the bottom left corner.
Cagliari’s maintained control and continued to test Verona’s defence, Sebastian Eriksson finding space outside the box but the midfielder’s effort flew over the bar.
Eriksson found Nene in the centre of the box for an unmarked header but the forward’s attempt was too high.
Cagliari were rewarded for their excellent start with a goal when Nene rose to meet Francesco Pisano’s cross, directing his header into the bottom right corner.
Agim Ibraimi found Nene with a through ball that dissected the Verona defence but the striker couldn’t double his tally, unable to slot his finish into a corner and seeing Rafael easily save the effort in the centre of the goal.
Ekdal continued the Cagliari domination when he found Danilo Avelar who hit a left footed strike from an acute angle but his effort missed.
It was the visiting Verona who had the first chance of the second half and their first notable opportunity to score of the entire match when Bosko Jankovic attempted to score from distance but saw his attempt fly wide.
Matias Vecino fed Ibraimi on the edge of the box but the attacking midfielder’s attempt was high and wide. The Macedonian nearly registered a scoring assist seconds later when he found Nene from close range but the strikers header flew into the stands.
Victor Ibarbo was brought on for Matias Cabrera and hit the post almost immediately after his introduction with a right footed shot on the edge of the box.
Vecino tested Rafael once more with a header that was saved in the centre of the goal following an Avelar cross while Marquinho attempted a free-kick from distance that was much too high.
Ekdal found Ibarbo in the box but the forward’s effort was just too high, nearly scraping the crossbar on its way past the goal.
Alessandro Agostini found Luca Toni for his first headed attempt of the match with 15 minutes left but the veteran’s effort flew wide.
A Romulo free-kick found Jankovic’s head but the winger’s attempt flew too high, while Luca Toni came close to a Verona equaliser with another header, but his attempt was saved by Vlada Avramov.
The visiting side continued to push for a late goal when Romulo attempted a shot from outside the box but his attempt rattled wide.
