Sassuolo-Cagliari 🔥 67 secs for VAR 👎 Garcia-Pinamonti turn it round | OneFootball

Sassuolo staged a comeback full of character and determination, beating Cagliari at the end of a hard-fought match.

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The three points had been missing since March 1 and allow Grosso’s side to draw level with Bologna in ninth place on 42 points. Cagliari, meanwhile, extend their winless run to eight matches, with plenty of regrets: from failing to protect their lead to the huge chance wasted late on. In the standings they remain +3 above the relegation zone, though the full round still has to be completed.

Let’s take a look at how the match unfolded.

👎 Idzes handles it with his wrist: VAR steps in after 67 seconds, Seba scores

26TH MINUTE - The incident that decided the match came from a ball won back on the edge of the box by Folorunsho, who immediately fed Esposito: chest control and a first-time volley attempt, but Idzes stopped him. The Cagliari forward immediately appealed for handball, and rightly so: the dropping ball struck the Sassuolo defender’s wrist illegally.

The referee let play continue, but a full 67 seconds passed — with the ball already out of play — before the game was stopped to allow VAR to intervene. A check was probably already underway silently, but on such a clear incident it would have been better to stop play immediately: any later developments would inevitably have sparked even more controversy.

Chiffi awarded the penalty, and Sebastiano Esposito stepped up and scored to put Cagliari ahead. The finish was not perfect, but it was enough to beat Muric.

1️⃣ Ulisses Garcia, his first goal in Italy!

50TH MINUTE - Sassuolo came back out for the second half determined and eager to get back into it, and they quickly found the equaliser through Ulisses Garcia, his first-ever Serie A goal.

Berardi swung in the corner, Mina cleared but the ball stayed alive on the edge of the area: the former Marseille man controlled it and struck left-footed, a precise shot into the corner that Caprile could not reach.

🚀 Folorunsho and Koné, boots need recalibrating

The second half also brought a smile with two chances, first for Folorunsho and then for Koné: the former, on his weaker foot, hit it straight, almost with his toe, from more than ten metres out; the latter blasted it high and wide, but drew even more amusement for his awkward coordination, arms spread wide, before the shot.

🔥 Thorstvedt-Bakola create, Pinamonti finishes: complete turnaround!

78TH MINUTE - Sassuolo completed the comeback, and they did it through their number 99, Andrea Pinamonti. A lightning-fast break from the Neroverdi: Thorstvedt found Bakola with a backheel, Bakola drove forward and produced a moment of invention, then picked out the striker. He controlled, turned and fired home the winning right-footed shot. Caprile did poorly there and certainly could have done more. It was Pinamonti’s eighth goal of the season, and one of his most important, because it was worth three huge points.

😱 Obert misses a sitter: blasts over after Muric’s terrible mistake!

90'+ MINUTE - It is hard to say which was worse between Muric’s mistake and Obert’s, but in terms of the result it was certainly the visiting defender’s error that weighed more heavily: first the goalkeeper’s failed rush out, then Obert, from a tight angle, fired wide with the goal wide open. It could have been the 2-2 and a massive point in the survival race, but that was not the case.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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