First Half
Cagliari started brightly and within just 120 seconds Matri was set through on goal by Lazzari. With Lichtsteiner bearing down on him however the Rossoblu forward could only produce a weak low drive which was easily smothered by Carrizo.
Less than 60 seconds later however the home side took the lead. A mistimed pass by Lopez was intercepted by Mauri who gifted a wonderful through ball for Rocchi. The Lazio Captain wasted nothing as he charged toward goal and coolly slotted past Marchetti.
The away side wasted no time in restoring the score line and within two minutes a powerful cross by Lopez was headed home by Jeda. Lazio looked stunned as Cagliari demonstrated their ability to hit back at will.
With little time to get their breath back the home side were behind after Cagliari doubled their lead. Matri turned his marker in the box and produced a delightful chip into the path of Jeda, who headed home for his second.
Cagliari were a team possessed and looked likely to score on every attack. The home side were clearly finding it hard to get to grips with the attacking setup of Allegri’s side.
On 15 minutes Zarate almost levelled the scoring with a wonderful free-kick just on the edge of the 18 yard box. As the ball floated over the wall it skimmed past the side-netting to the delight of the Curva Nord who thought it had gone in.
The game was shaping up to be a thriller with both teams constantly threatening the opposing goals with their attack minded formations.
After twenty minutes Cagliari won a penalty when Carrizo downed Jeda in the box. A wonderful through ball by Conti had set Jeda through on goal, the Argentinean number 1 brought him down and referee Romero wasted no time in booking him as he pointed to the spot. Aquafresca stepped up to slide the ball coolly into the corner and gift his side an impressive early lead.
Just four minutes before the break Cagliari threw the sucker punch when Matri headed home to extended their tally to four. After some good work down the right the ball was floated in for a towering Matri who cleverly headed deep into the bottom corner. The away-side were cruising with the score an exact reverse of the opposite fixture.
Lazio were hurting as they poured forward looking to immediately hit back.
Within two minutes they had a golden chance after being awarded a penalty. Mauri went down after a contact from Marchetti and referee Romero pointed to the spot. It was proving clearly not to be Lazio’s day as when their captain stepped up and blasted wide of the post.
Shortly after the whistle blew for half-time and whilst the teams headed in for the break the Olimpico was amassed with whistles from the crowd. The Lazio faithful were clearly not happy with a first half-defensive display that left a lot to be desired. For Cagliari it was smiles all round, after having scored a third of their away goals this season, in just 45 minutes.
Second Half
After the re-start the home side had another golden chance to re-open the match when Rocchi was felled in the box after five minutes. This time he left the kick to Zarate but yet again Lazio failed to score as Marchetti saved the weak drive. Zarate went on to kick the post in disgust on what was proving to be a nightmare afternoon for the Biancocelesti.
Lazio were not going down without a fight, and just three minutes later Pandev went extremely close after some great solo work in the box. Marchetti was equal to the Macedonian’s chip-shot and there was little Lazio could do to force in the re-bound.
On 60 minutes a wonderful chip from Pandev served Zarate solo in the box. As the young Argentine controlled however the ball appeared to get stuck between his feet and his subsequent shot was just inches wide of the post.
In the final quarter Lazio continued to stream forward but Marchetti was proving prominent between the sticks as he kept the three goal gap between the sides.
With 15 minutes left to play Cagliari could have inflicted further embarrassment on the home side when Matri was set one on one toward Carrizo. Instead of rounding the keeper he attempted an ambitious drive which sprayed wide of the near post.
As the game drew to its conclusion the Isolani had little trouble in containing the home side’s efforts to pour forward. The heavy first-half scoreline had clearly proved decisive and Lazio were being forced to pay for some disastrous errors from the penalty spot.
When the whistle finally blew for full-time, Cagliari were left jubilant after their record win launched them to an impressive 10th in the standings. Lazio left the field deflated after a terrible day at the office that saw them drop to 9th, behind arch-rivals Roma for the first time this season.
Lazio (4-3-3): Carrizo, Lichtsteiner, Diakité (Cribari 45’), Rozehnal, Kolarov; Brocchi, Ledesma, Mauri (Foggia 75’); Pandev, Zarate, Rocchi (S.Inzaghi 68’)
Cagliari (4-3-1-2): Marchetti; Matheu, Lopez, Bianco, Pisano; Conti, Biondini (Parola 83’), Lazzari; Jeda (Larrivey 88’); Matri, Aquafresca (Fini 66’)
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