Belotti fires Cagliari to 2-1 comeback win over bottom club Lecce
LECCE, Italy – Andrea Belotti inspired Cagliari to a 2-1 comeback victory over US Lecce on Sunday afternoon, scoring twice to give the visitors their second Serie A win in a row while leaving the hosts stuck at the bottom of the table.
Lecce got off to the perfect start at the Stadio Via del Mare when Tiago Gabriel headed home from close range after just five minutes. Riccardo Sottil delivered a brilliant cross from the left and the Portuguese defender was there to nod it in for his first Serie A goal since joining last January.
Cagliari didn’t let that early goal knock them though and they nearly equalized after 18 minutes when Sebastiano Esposito’s shot from just outside the six-yard box smacked the woodwork. The visitors was putting good pressure on and Wladimiro Falcone had to make a superb save from Alessandro Deiola’s header following a corner kick.
The equalizer finally came just after the half hour mark and it was all about quick thinking from Cagliari. They broke forward fast and Marco Palestra had loads of space in the box to play a simple square pass to Belotti, who scuffed it home for his first goal in Cagliari colors. It wasn’t the prettiest finish but they all count.
Right before halftime Esposito hit the woodwork again with a lovely curling shot from 18 yards that struck the post. The young striker must of been wondering what he had to do to score.
The second half started with Cagliari still on the front foot and Belotti should of put them ahead in the 49th minute but his shot from inside the box went over the bar. Then there was a bizarre moment when a sliced Cagliari clearance nearly went into their own net but Elia Caprile made a great reflex save.
The turning point came after 71 minutes when Belotti got brought down in the box by Gabriel and the referee pointed to the spot. Belotti stepped up to take the penalty himself and even though Falcone guessed the right way, he smashed it into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
That goal proved to be the winner as Cagliari held on for a valuable three points away from home. Before this game they had only won one of their last 11 Serie A matches on the road so this was a big result for Fabio Pisacane’s team.
For Lecce this was another disappointing result that leaves them still looking for their first league win of the season. The Giallorossi will be gutted they couldn’t hold onto their early lead, especially after such a bright start to the match.