Cagliari came away from Stadio Paolo Mazza with all three points, defeating SPAL 2-0 thanks to a goal in either half from Nicolò Barella and Joao Pedro.
Barella’s deflected effort earned him his first ever goal for his hometown club midway through the first half, while Joao Pedro scored a stunning goal from 30 yards to wrap up the contest.
SPAL made no changes from their defeat to Inter last weekend, with a 3-5-2 formation seeing Alberto Paloschi partner Marco Borriello up front. Cagliari lined up with a 4-3-1-2 formation and made two enforced changes from last week’s victory over Crotone. Luca Ceppitelli and Artur Ionita came in for the injured Marco Andreolli and Daniele Dessena.
The game started relatively quietly as the teams attempted to find their rhythm. Joao Pedro picked up an early yellow card for a nasty challenge on ex-Cagliari striker Borriello, who was top scorer for the Rossoblù last season with 16 Serie A goals.
L’ha messa male #JoaoPedro #SPALCagliari pic.twitter.com/gz7S6qfM9Q
— Alice Nidasio (@alinidax) September 17, 2017
Cagliari began to dominate midfield and their first goal came on seventeen minutes. Captain Marco Sau crossed a dangerous ball in from the byline, Alfred Gomis elected to palm it away to the edge of the box to the waiting Barella. He composed himself and struck an effort goalwards and the ball found its way into the net via a deflection.
Cagliari kept control of the game for most of the second half. SPAL struggled to make any chances, as they tried to use both their wingbacks Manuel Lazzari and Filippo Costa to build attacks. Captain Luca Mora was presented their only meaningful chance of the half, but he volleyed straight at Alessio Cragno in goal.
The game came to life early in the second half, Lazzari struck the crossbar from a cross, while Paloschi moments later failed to do better after being presented the ball in the box.
A big moment came on the sixtieth minute mark. A poor header from Fabio Pisacane provided Paloschi the opportunity to run unopposed on goal. A heavy touch allowed Marco Capuano to get back and chop him down. The home fans screamed for a red card, but the ref produced yellow, believing other defenders were covering.
It was another defensive mishap which provided the second goal. SPAL’s defence cheaply gave the ball away as they attempted to build an attack from defence, and Joao Pedro picked the ball up. From 30 yards out he turned and struck an incredible shot into the top-right corner to send the 500 travelling fans into delirium.
The remaining part of the game saw SPAL throwing caution to the wind, but it was Cagliari who had the better chances to score again. Substitute Diego Farias squandered numerous occasions to put the tie beyond doubt.
Borriello almost scored a consolation at the death, when his shot from the edge of the box took a deflection and looked as though it would deceive Cragno. However, he switched direction and somehow managed to clip the ball over the bar for a corner, his clean sheet intact.
