Cagliari – Napoli 1-1, Spalletti misses Milan’s lead

the match
After Milan’s last draw with Salernitana of the season and the sensational defeat of Inter, even the third power in the tournament missed the date with victory and it seems that the championship race has become a hand for ‘Ciapa no’, a variant of the famous card game Tressette in which the winner is the one who scores the fewest points and then loser. At the end of the twenty-sixth day the balance between the top of the class remains almost unchanged, and tonight the Spalletti boys eat their hands, who seriously risked losing to the excellent Cagliari, saved – as is now customary – Osimene, who comes off the bench and finds the winning pumpkin. The excuse to be absent at Napoli is again the many absences, but the 3-man defense did not work out, and if there was a team that deserved the full share, Cagliari would be too wasteful once they took over. Fortunately thanks to Ospina’s blatant mistake. Mazari can console himself with his own test: by playing this way, salvation is an attainable goal.

On his home ground, Cagliari was first to start with Basile, and fifth in a row for Pereiro to be paired with Joao Pedro. In defense Lovato recovered. Spalletti, due to his many absences, proposes a defense that we have already seen this year only once in a home defeat against Atalanta. USsimine and Fabian Ruiz need to catch their breath, and Elmas is behind Mertens and Petagna. The two teams practically line up in the mirror and the technique leaves room for fitness. The first ring of Di Lorenzo, on the left of the ledge that Cragna raised over the crossbar. In a subsequent corner kick for Zelensky, Rahmani didn’t find the winning touch alone. Cagliari, in search of safety points, does not stand still and at 16′ Altare takes off from two steps. Sardinia’s most tempting chance two minutes later, when Koulibaly came back poorly, the ball reached Joao Pedro whose diagonal ends next to the breath. Basile was an inspiration and in half an hour he makes a header for the Italian-Brazilian who hits his head weakly and centrally. Spalletti at 25′ also loses Di Lorenzo to a header: inside Malcuit. The Blues meet again in the last inning, first with an oath from Mario Roy who Cragno resorted to in the corner and then with Mertens, who veered Goldanega with his back from the score.

In the second half the hosts start better, but Deiola opens the pot too much and devours the advantage goal. Five minutes passed and the match was freed: Piero’s left-footed shot is irresistible, but the ball bounces in front of Ospina who doesn’t get there. A serious mistake by the Colombian goalkeeper. Napoli suffers from a violent reaction and risks 0-2 in the 61st minute: Ospina instinctively saves from Diola’s header and Basile does not find the mirror when rebounding. Spalletti chooses a three-way change midway through the second half: in Osimhen, Fabian Ruiz and Ounas, with a return to defense at 4. But it was still Cagliari who touched the double after a superb replay of Marin, but Ospina still saved. In the corner, the former Arsenal goalkeeper refuses to serve directly on the line. The hosts’ joke arrives in the 87th minute: Mario Rui crosses into the far corner, Altari is too weak for Usiméne to hit Cragno header. In full recovery, Marin hits the wild out of the net and the match ends after 6 minutes of recovery.

Report Cards
Marine 7 – Gastroenteritis initially sends him to the bench and plays only twenty minutes of recovery including devastating. The restart in which Ospina forced a superb save, touched 2-1 in the recovery and hit the net from outside.
Pereiro 6.5 The goal that deceives Sardinia comes above all thanks to the complicity of Ospina, but the Uruguayan striker confirms this evening that he is an indispensable key pawn.
Altar 5 In the first half he missed a good opportunity by kicking the ball from a few paces away (even if Ospina probably had a foul). Too weak in air contrast with Osimhen: a mistake that costs his teammates two very valuable points.

Osimene 7 – He’s not at his best and with Barcelona at the gates, Spalletti doesn’t risk it. Then circumstances dictate his entry and once again he lifts the chestnuts off the fire with a gentle nod.
betagna 5 – Throw the opportunity given to him by Spalletti to the wind. Gagged by Lovato, he didn’t do a proper job, either in terms of movements or conclusions.
Ospina 5 – The error on Pereiro is 4, but the Colombian goalkeeper compensates himself with two miracles on Diola and Marin who kept his team afloat.

Table
Cagliari – Napoli 1-1
Cagliari (3-5-2): Cragno 6.5; Goldaniga 6.5, Lovato 6.5, Altar 5; Bellanova 6.5, Baselli 6.5 (37′ st Zappa sv), Grassi 6.5 (30′ st Marin 7), Deiola 5, Dalbert 6 (50′ st Lykogiannis sv); Joao Pedro 6.5, Pereiro 6.5 (38 min Pavulity sv). Available: Areti, Radunovic, Carboni, Ceppitelli, Obert, Gagliano, Keita. Attached: Mazari 6.5
Naples (3-4-1-2): Ospina 5; Rahmani 6, Coulibaly 5.5, Juan Jesus 6 (22 Fabian Ruiz 6 avenue); Di Lorenzo 6 (27′ Malcuit 5 – 38′ st Zanoli sv), Demme 5.5 (22′ st Ounas 5.5), Zielinski 5.5, Mario Rui 6; elmas 6; Betagna 5 (22′ Saint Eusimene 7), Mertens 5.5. Available: Merritt, Marfla, Glam. AttachedShoulder pads 5.5
Rule: nasty
Signs: 13′ st Pereiro (C), 42′ st Osimhen (N)
ammonites: Joao Pedro (centre), Malcuit (north), Coulibaly (north)
Fired:-
NB:-

statistics
Cagliari scored 12 points in seven Serie A matches in 2022, two points more than the entire first part of the season (10 in 19 matches).
Cagliari remained unbeaten at home to Napoli in the Italian league for the first time since December 2013 (1-1).
Gaston Pereiro participated in six Serie A goals in 2022 (four goals, two assists), only Gianluca Capari (seven) did better in this period.
Gaston Pereiro has scored four goals in his last six Serie A matches, more than any previous 37 goals in the competition.
Cagliari are the first team that Victor Osimhen has scored against in three different Serie A matches (three goals in three crosses).
Since December 2017 (the 16th day of the 2017/2018 tournament) none of the top seven teams have made it through to the standings at the start of the day.
Napoli reached only seven conclusions in this meeting, as of February 2021 (four against Atalanta) they had tried little in the Serie A match.
Napoli is the team that has not conceded a goal in the first half of the Italian Serie A (19).
The 50th presence of Amir Rahmani and Victor Osimhen in the Napoli shirt in all competitions.