Udinese earned an impressive away victory at the Unipol Domus as second-half goals from Adam Buksa and Pape Gueye handed Cagliari a painful 2-0 defeat in Serie A Matchday 36.
Cagliari missed the chance to mathematically secure Serie A survival on Saturday, falling 2-0 at home to Udinese in a match that punished the Rossoblù for failing to capitalize on their strongest moments.
The Sardinians entered the game needing just one point to officially guarantee safety, and for much of the first half they looked the more dangerous side. However, a combination of poor finishing and an inspired performance from Maduka Okoye kept the match level.
Cagliari created several promising opportunities before halftime through Gianluca Gaetano, Sebastiano Esposito, and Palestra, while Udinese struggled to establish consistent attacking rhythm.
One of the key moments of the match arrived in the 37th minute. Referee Dionisi initially awarded Cagliari a penalty for a handball by Jesper Karlström inside the area, but after a VAR review the decision was overturned, leaving the score tied at 0-0 heading into halftime.
The home side resumed strongly after the break and nearly found the opener when Esposito’s effort was dramatically cleared off the line by Mlacic. Udinese immediately responded, with Nicolò Zaniolo striking the post moments later after beating Elia Caprile.
That warning quickly turned into the opening goal. In the 56th minute, Oumar Solet launched a brilliant long pass to Hassane Kamara, whose low cross into the box was turned home from close range by Adam Buksa.
Trailing 1-0, Cagliari pushed aggressively for an equalizer that would have secured survival, but Udinese’s defense remained compact and disciplined. Karlström produced another crucial intervention with a goal-line clearance to deny Alberto Dossena late in the game.
Deep into stoppage time, Udinese sealed the result on the counterattack. Keinan Davis broke forward before setting up Pape Gueye, who calmly finished to make it 2-0 and silence the home crowd at the Unipol Domus.
The defeat postpones Cagliari’s survival celebration, while Udinese continue to finish the season strongly under Kosta Runjaic.
Match Report
Cagliari 0-2 Udinese
Scorers:
56’ Buksa (Udinese), 90+6’ Gueye (Udinese)
Cagliari (4-3-3)
Caprile; Zé Pedro (62’ Sulemana), Rodriguez, Dossena, Obert (89’ Trepy); Adopo (89’ Belotti), Gaetano, Folorunsho (73’ Albarracin); Palestra (62’ Zappa), Mendy, Esposito
Head Coach: Fabio Pisacane
Udinese (3-5-1-1)
Okoye; Mlacic (55’ Bertola, 55’ Miller), Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue (78’ Arizala), Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Atta, Kamara; Buksa (65’ Davis), Zaniolo (78’ Gueye)
Head Coach: Kosta Runjaic
Referee: Dionisi
Yellow Cards: Ehizibue, Zé Pedro, Davis
Red Cards: None
