Daniele Ghilardi was sent off for Verona, while veteran scorer Leonardo Pavoletti and a late counter from Alessandro Deiola handed Cagliari a potentially important victory for their Serie A survival. Two clubs hoping to take the final step out of the drop zone faced up in this crucial matchup. Both were coming off losses, with Pawel Dawidowicz, Casper Tengstedt, and Abdou Harroui hurt as Hellas lost 1-0 to Roma. After one point from three rounds, Alessandro Deiola rejoined the Sardinians, but Yerry Mina was benched and Roberto Piccoli was suspended.
Cagliari were dangerous on the counter-attack, Razvan Marin sending Zito Luvumbo clear on goal, forcing Lorenzo Montipò to come sprinting out to parry with his legs. Verona lost Tomas Suslov too in the opening half-hour, as he limped off following treatment.