Serie A, Genoa-Cagliari 1-0, Badelj’s goal in the 89th minute

And when it seemed all over, Genoa found the decisive flash with Badelj to return to success by returning to the race for salvation and are preparing for a derby with Sampdoria that is giving away a good part of salvation. Cagliari, beaten 1-0, falls one minute from the ninetieth on the only real serious defensive error, when it does not close the space on the combination from the left Melegoni-Destro, which the Genoa midfielder turns into a goal after having avoided Rog’s attempted closure. Mazzarri’s position, at this point, hangs in the balance. And to think that it was a damn complicated match for Genoa, even if Salernitana’s third success in a row had also evaporated Cagliari’s treasure on the bottom three of the standings, adding further tension to the challenge.

The race

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Blessin, after the 4-3-2-1 attempt at San Siro against Milan, returned to 4-2-3-1, with heavy recoveries (Sturaro, Portanova), with the new Frendrup left-back in place of Hefti and Ekuban preferred to Destro in attack. In Cagliari, Mazzarri chose Keita alongside Joao Pedro in attack, trusting the center of defense to Ceppitelli, again the owner in place of the suspended Lovato. Genoa starts very strong, Cagliari tries to contain the attacks of Blessin’s team. Carboni blocks Ekuban who tries to enter the area from the right, then Cragno (4 ‘) is careful on a poisonous shot by Portanova. The home team has a great ball possession, but struggles in the conclusion phase: a story already seen, while Mazzarri’s men try to trigger Keita in the left lane. But it is an ineffective plot, that of the Ligurians, who usually lack the right effectiveness in attack, because the team rushes to the edge of the penalty area, but then struggles to conclude. It is the original sin of a team that is one step away from Serie B mainly due to its attacking sterility. Cagliari thus chose not to take risks, with two out of three results still available: they look out from the Genoa area for the first time in the 22nd minute with Joao Pedro, but Sirigu blocks on the ground. Game that struggles to take off, but in the half hour comes the best chance of the first half for Genoa, favored by a wrong play by Dalbert that infuriates Mazzarri: Amiri has good coordination, but his shot is wide. Too little to scare an opponent who defends himself well, is organized and, compared to Blessin’s men, has a more effective ball circulation.

TURN WANTED

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Nothing else happens until the interval. And if zero to zero can be good for Cagliari, for Genoa it is like an early half sentence to relegation. Blessin then plays the Destro card, leaving Amiri in the locker room. But the form does not change, because Ekuban goes wide on the left on the attacking midfielders line. But it is Cagliari that goes very close to scoring twice: Joao Pedro (3 ‘) hits the post to the right of Sirigu, even if the genoans protest for a suspected dangerous intervention by Altare on Ekuban, on the guest restart. Blessin changes again: inside Gudmundsson replaces Portanova, Melegoni takes over Ekuban. But the Genoa offensive maneuver does not take off, and Cagliari is the most dangerous. Keita’s double pass surprises Ostigard, but Sirigu manages to counter the attacker’s shot, then Marin sends wide (18 ‘). Mazzarri recalls Keita and chooses Pavoletti’s physicality for a final in which Genoa finds a very heavy victory for morale and for the standings. The one to zero unleashes Cagliari after the final whistle. Cragno has a too lively face to face with Destro, the Genoa bench dampens the tensions in the bud.