Cagliari came from two goals down to seal a 2-2 draw against Roma at the Sardegna Arena on Saturday, despite finishing with nine men.
An early Bryan Cristante drive and Aleksandar Kolarov’s heavily deflected freekick looked to have set Roma on course for victory, only for Artur Ionita’s late header to mark a stunning comeback.
Deep into stoppage time, Darijo Srna and Luca Ceppitelli were sent off for the home side, but despite this substitute Marco Sau broke through to equalise with the final kick of the game.
Roma began on the front foot and their early pressure was rewarded after a quarter of an hour, as Alessandro Florenzi’s low cross was flicked back by Justin Kluivert towards Cristante. With time to pick his spot, the midfielder slowed down and rifled beyond Alessio Cragno.
It was one way traffic as Roma looked to stretch the play wide. Florenzi pushed forward and crossed into a crowded penalty area, but Ragnar Klavan’s clearance only fell as far as Kolarov. The full-back met the loose ball with a volley into the ground, bouncing just wide.
Cagliari’s attacks were few and far between, though the Sardinians came close to levelling with 10 minutes remaining of the first period. Srna’s cutback on the edge of the box carved the Roma defence open, but Kostas Manolas recovered to throw himself in front of Diego Farias’ low drive.
Despite this, the Giallorossi doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime. The dangerous Nicolo Zaniolo was caught by Klavan’s high boot, and Kolarov duly fired in from the resulting freekick, courtesy of a huge deflection. The Serbia international’s set-piece cannoned off Ceppitelli and changed direction to land in the far corner.
In the second half, Cagliari grew into the match and enjoyed greater possession in the final third. Despite this, it was Roma who came closest, as Cengiz Under’s corner fell to the feet of Steven Nzonzi in front of goal, only for the Frenchman to get tangled up before applying the finish.
As the home side pushed forward, Roma sought to hit them on the counterattack. Patrik Schick drove forward before releasing Zaniolo, and the teenager’s first time effort with the outside of his boot forced a smart save.
With a newfound belief in the second half though, the Rossoblu charged forward through a Joao Pedro and Cerri one-two to carve open the defence. The move fell apart in the box though, with the latter failing to react in time and allowing Robin Olsen to smother.
The pressure told with five minutes remaining, as Joao Pedro flicked on a swinging corner to the back post, where Ionita had eluded Florenzi to throw himself at the ball and head home from close range.
In the dying seconds Cagliari were reduced to nine men as Srna and Ceppitelli were given their marching orders. After Olsen was caught by Farias in the box, the pair appeared to push the referee and were both sent down the tunnel.
Despite their heavy numerical disadvantage, Cagliari completed a stunning comeback with the final kick of the game. A long Roma clearance was sent back upfield for Sau to chase, and the substitute broke clear to fire beyond Olsen.
