Cagliari vs Lecce: Belotti Brace Seals 2-1 Serie A Comeback

Belotti’s brace flips the night for Cagliari in Lecce

An early punch, a veteran answer, and a stubborn finish. Cagliari walked out of the Via del Mare with a 2-1 win after turning a loud, nervy night into a statement of grit. Tiago Gabriel’s fifth-minute opener lit up the stands, but a ruthless double from Andrea Belotti flipped the script and banked the visitors’ first comeback victory of the season.

It started with Lecce on the front foot. The hosts pressed high from the kick-off, squeezed Cagliari’s fullbacks, and hit quickly down the right. Riccardo Sottil slipped a clean pass into space for the rampaging Tiago Gabriel, who drove his finish low and early past Elia Caprile. At 1-0, the noise from 26,219 fans rolled around the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare, and Lecce leaned into it. Ylber Ramadani kept the midfield tidy, Lassana Coulibaly snapped into duels, and the front trio ran the channels.

Cagliari held their shape and steadied. The 4-3-2-1 that looked too flat in the opening minutes began to breathe. Michael Folorunsho won second balls, Matteo Prati found angles into the half-spaces, and Alessandro Deiola and Sebastiano Esposito started to combine between the lines. The equalizer on 33 minutes felt earned. Marco Palestra got high on the right and served a precise ball into the stride of Belotti, who ghosted across his marker and finished first time. Clinical, calm, and a reminder that the veteran still lives for those near-post runs.

Halftime arrived at 1-1 with the match wide open. Lecce had edges in territory and energy. Cagliari had rhythm. Both benches kept it unchanged to start the second half, but the visitors looked fresher in the duels. Yerry Mina set the tone by winning aerials and stepping in front of Nikola Stulic. Adam Obert locked down the left lane. With the back line settled, Cagliari could commit runners. Esposito drifted right to pull Antonino Gallo out, Deiola slid left to create a lane for Obert, and Belotti hovered on the shoulder, waiting for a mistake.

It came on 71 minutes. A sharp Cagliari move worked the ball into the area, a tangle of legs followed, and Luca Zufferli pointed to the spot. After a brief check by VAR official Matteo Gariglio, the call stood. Belotti placed the ball, waited out Wladimiro Falcone, and rolled his penalty into the bottom-left corner. Cold execution, 2-1 Cagliari, and a game they refused to let go.

Lecce pushed back late and created moments. Tete Morente, on as fresh energy, found a header from the center of the box but sent it just wide. Konan N’Dri let fly from distance and missed the target. The closest came when Mattia Felici cut across the top of the box and hit a skipping shot toward the far post. Caprile read it early and got down to hold. It wasn’t a siege, but it was enough to keep the away end anxious until the final whistle.

Belotti, who scored in both halves, took Player of the Match without debate. The night belonged to him, but it was also won by details around him. Mina’s leadership steadied the back four. Palestra’s assist changed the tone. Folorunsho’s ball-winning stopped Lecce’s counters before they built speed. And Caprile, quiet for spells, was sharp in the moments that mattered.

Tactics, turning points, and what it means

Cagliari’s structure told the story. On paper it was a 4-3-2-1 with Caprile in goal; Palestra, Mina, Sebastiano Luperto, and Obert across the back; Adopo, Prati, and Folorunsho in midfield; Deiola and Esposito tucked behind Belotti. In practice, it flexed. Out of possession, Deiola and Esposito dropped to help screen passes into Ramadani. In possession, they broke wide into the half-spaces, letting Prati dictate with short diagonals. That movement created the angles that Belotti thrives on—near-post darts, blind-side runs, and quick finishes.

Lecce’s 4-3-3 worked early. Coulibaly stepped high to press the first pass, Sala offered a passing lane, and Ramadani held the base. The front three—Santiago Pierotti, Stulic, and Sottil—rotated to drag Cagliari’s center-backs into uncomfortable areas. The opening goal came from that rhythm: early win, quick release, aggressive fullback. But as the game wore on, Cagliari closed those lanes. Esposito tracked back to slow Gallo’s overlaps, while Obert picked his moments to engage, trusting Folorunsho to cover the space behind.

After the equalizer, Lecce’s plan shifted to vertical balls into the gaps. Stulic tried to pin Mina, and Pierotti cut inside to shoot, but the final actions lacked the same clarity as the first 20 minutes. When the penalty arrived, it stung twice for the hosts: they had numbers back, but Cagliari had better body shape and won the first contact inside the box. From there, Belotti did what he came to do.

The officiating crew kept a firm handle on the match. Referee Luca Zufferli let the game breathe but stepped in when the tempo spiked. Assistants Vittorio Di Gioia and Daisuke Yoshikawa were sharp on the lines, and the penalty decision, checked quickly by VAR (Matteo Gariglio), stood without a long interruption. The flow helped both teams, and the lack of prolonged stoppages gave the second half a clear rhythm.

Personnel mattered on the night. Lecce were missing Balthazar Pierret, Gaby Jean, and Filip Marchwinski through injury. That trimmed their options for control in midfield and punch in the final third. Cagliari were without Boris Radunovic and Zito Luvumbo, the latter a regular source of direct speed. Without Luvumbo, the visitors relied more on rotation and timing than raw pace. It worked because the midfield three won enough duels to let the front line keep positions rather than chase lost causes.

The numbers that matter here are simple. Three points on the road. A first comeback win of the season for Cagliari. Seven points on the board after four rounds. Lecce stay on one point, with the frustration of a strong start that didn’t turn into a result. In the head-to-head, Cagliari now edge it with three wins to Lecce’s two, plus five draws between them.

Lineups told their own story. Lecce named Wladimiro Falcone in goal; a back four of Christ-Owen Kouassi, Kialonda Gaspar, Tiago Gabriel, and Antonino Gallo; a midfield of Coulibaly, Ramadani, and Álex Sala; and a front three of Pierotti, Stulic, and Sottil. Cagliari started Caprile; Palestra, Mina, Luperto, and Obert; Adopo, Prati, and Folorunsho; Deiola and Esposito behind Belotti. On paper, Lecce had width and early bite. Cagliari had structure, patience, and a finisher in form.

Key moments underline how the match swung:

• 5' — Goal Lecce: Tiago Gabriel finishes a move started by Sottil down the right. 1-0.
• 33' — Goal Cagliari: Palestra’s measured delivery meets Belotti’s near-post run. 1-1.
• 71' — Goal Cagliari (pen): Belotti sends Falcone the wrong way, bottom-left. 1-2.
• 80-90' — Lecce push: Morente heads wide; N’Dri and Felici shoot from range; Caprile holds firm.

From a tactical view, the duel on the right flank was decisive. Initially, Tiago Gabriel and Sottil overloaded Obert, forcing Luperto into awkward cover. After the half-hour mark, Cagliari adjusted by tucking Deiola deeper on that side, which freed Obert to engage earlier and cut crosses at the source. That adjustment blunted the channel where Lecce had found joy. On the opposite side, Palestra’s willingness to overlap gave Cagliari a clean outlet every time Folorunsho won the ball. The equalizer came straight from that pattern.

Momentum in the second half hinged on midfield distances. When Cagliari kept Prati within passing range of Adopo and Folorunsho, they broke pressure with two or three touches. When they stretched, Lecce pounced and turned those loose passes into quick counters. The difference after the hour was Cagliari’s discipline. They stopped giving Lecce transition fuel. That’s what set up the penalty sequence—patient possession, bodies in the box, and a defender lunging a beat late.

Individually, several performances deserve a nod. Mina read the long balls early and won his duels with authority. Luperto played the simple pass and stayed tight to his line, which kept the gaps small. Prati kept the tempo calm when the crowd tried to speed it up. On Lecce’s side, Ramadani did the dirty work and recycled play, while Sottil’s burst for the opener was the game’s cleanest attacking action outside of the goals.

It’s also a night that says something about Cagliari’s attack going forward. Belotti is not chasing every ball anymore; he is picking his moments. With Esposito and Deiola offering support in different zones and Palestra and Obert adding width, there are now more routes to get him the service he needs. The first goal was pure timing. The second was composure. Put those together and you have a reliable blueprint for tight away games.

For Lecce, the takeaway is sharper final-third choices when the early wave passes. The structure is there: a back four that can step high, a midfield that can press, and wings that carry a threat. What was missing after the break was the extra pass to turn half-chances into clear ones. The late efforts—Morente’s header, N’Dri’s hit from range, Felici’s drive—were close, but they did not force the issue often enough.

Beyond the points, the mood shifts. Cagliari leave with belief and a reminder that they can manage different game states. They have already ticked off a key box: winning after trailing. That matters over a long season. Lecce, meanwhile, have evidence that their opening pattern can hurt good teams. Now the work is about carrying that level past the 30-minute mark and protecting edges when legs get heavy.

Attendance, officiating, and context round it out. The 26,219 in Lecce saw a match that never sagged and a veteran striker decide it. Zufferli’s team kept it clean. VAR was present without overshadowing the game. And the table looks different for both sides because of one calm penalty and one near-post run that beat the line.

On a Serie A weekend crowded with storylines, this one stands out for its clarity. A fast start from Lecce. An answer before halftime. A decisive moment from the spot. Then a goalkeeper who did his job when it mattered. It adds up to Cagliari’s seventh point, Lecce’s frustration at one point from four, and a reminder that margins in September can echo through spring.