In a match in the 27th round of Serie B, Cagliari played at home to Genoa, the second meeting between the two sides, the first time the two teams drew 0-0. As two relegation horses, there is hope of rushing to the first division this year, and there are 11 rounds left in the league, and both sides are making the final sprint. At present, Cagliari is in the promotion play-off zone, while Genoa is second in the league and occupies a direct promotion place, but the advantages of the two teams are not obvious, and they may be surpassed at any time, so both teams attach great importance to this match!
Ranieri has won all three home games since taking over in early January, which shows that the boss is very good at playing at home, and although the opponent in this round is the top Genoa, Cagliari is still the favorite team to win. In order to defeat his opponent, Ranieri was also well prepared, putting Nandes and Pavoletti on the bench.
As expected, the stronger Genoa put a lot of pressure on Cagliari after the start of the game, and the starting back Rogue not only received a yellow card in a short period of time, but also suffered injuries in the confrontation, and finally could not hold on and was substituted in the 13th minute. Fortunately, Cagliari withstood the most dangerous first 30 minutes and then began to counterattack, but successive attacks failed to score, and the score was still 0:0!
In the second half, Cagliari made the first substitution, and Ranieri put Nandes on the pitch and used his speed to continue to pressure the opposing defence, and the effect was immediate. In the 47th minute, Cagliari counterattacked, Nandes burst into the box and was pushed down by the defender behind him, referee Paolo Valelli immediately blew a penalty, but after connecting the video referee, the penalty was canceled. Not only that, but in the 56th minute, a goal in front of the goal of Nandes was also blown away because teammate Mankosu was offside at the beginning of this attack!
At that time, the broadcast camera was given to Ranieri on the sidelines, and the old coach's disappointed expression was written on his face. After missing out on the best opportunity, Cagliari failed to get another chance, as did Genoa, and in the end neither side scored, and once again shook hands 0-0!
Obviously, such a result is a little regrettable for Cagliari. Realistically, referee Valeri's two blows, whether they were penalties or goals, are controversial.
Perhaps two penalties were too ambiguous, referee Paolo Valeri suffered retribution, leaving the pitch with a mysterious injury in the 71st minute of the game, and when he walked off the pitch, he signaled head discomfort. In the end, fourth official Monardi replaced Valeri and blew the final game!
Ranieri was full of regret and angry about the result of such a draw, but he still maintained a gentlemanly demeanor. In an interview after the game, he only tactfully criticized referee Paul Valeri, and the boss confessed: "Today we lacked some luck, such as when we were in good shape and the referee was injured and the game was interrupted for a while. In addition, today's referee has a high level of law enforcement, especially Monardi, the fourth official who came off the bench! Obviously, Ranieli's implication is that the fourth official has a higher level of enforcement than referee Valeri.