Cagliari 1-0 Lecce: Daniel Maldini's header decides a Matchday 3 derby of relegation-threat sides

Cagliari made home advantage count at the Unipol Domus, beating Lecce 1-0 through a single first-half header from Daniel Maldini. It was enough for a Cagliari side that spent the rest of the match missing further chances and hitting the woodwork twice, while Lecce came closest to an equaliser in stoppage time with an overhead kick that flashed wide.

Maldini's header and two Cagliari crossbars

Maldini opened the scoring just before the half-hour, meeting a Jacopo Fazzini corner with a header past Wladimiro Falcone. Lecce had already threatened first, with Lassana Coulibaly's early turn and shot saved by Elia Caprile, and came close again late in the half when a low diagonal effort from Nikola Stulic was deflected behind for a corner, again by Caprile. Adam Obert also tested Falcone from distance shortly after Cagliari's goal, forcing a save low to his right.

The second half belonged to Cagliari without producing a second goal. Alessandro Sugamele, Michel Adopo and Maldini himself all missed chances to extend the lead, and the hosts twice struck the woodwork — Paul Mendy moments after the restart, then Maldini from a free-kick. Lecce's best chance of the match came in stoppage time, when a goalmouth scramble ended with Jamil Siebert's overhead kick flying just wide of the target. The only sour note for Cagliari was an injury to substitute Mattia Felici, who was replaced after just 13 minutes on the pitch.

Match facts

Three of the match's four bookings came in the closing minutes: Kialonda Gaspar was cautioned in the 37th minute for Lecce, then Alessandro Deiola and substitute Siebert both picked up yellow cards in stoppage time (90'+5'), right around that late scramble, before Falcone himself was booked two minutes later as the match wound down.

Contrasting form coming in

Both sides arrived at this Matchday 3 clash with identical W-L records but very different margins: Cagliari's loss to Inter had been by a single goal, while Lecce had just been beaten 4-0 by Roma at home. That gap showed on the pitch, with Cagliari's extra control reflected in the 20-10 shot count and the 1.36-0.41 expected-goals split.

What came next

This result turned out to be the start of a run for Cagliari, not a one-off: they followed it with a 2-1 win away at Atalanta in Matchday 4 and a 1-0 win at Udinese in Matchday 5, three straight victories from a club many had tipped for another relegation battle. Lecce's response was mixed — they beat Monza 3-2 at home in Matchday 4, but were then beaten 3-0 away at AC Milan in Matchday 5, leaving them with one win in their last three since this defeat in Cagliari.

Line-ups