Football
9y

Inter Milan shocked by Cagliari in Serie A as Napoli win, AC Milan draw

Inter Milan were stunned by an Albin Ekdal hat trick as Cagliari ran riot at the San Siro, while Napoli picked up a much-needed win away to Sassuolo and AC Milan had to settle for a draw at Cesena.

Cagliari moved off the foot of the Serie A table as Ekdal's explosive 15-minute treble gave them a famous 4-1 triumph against 10-man Inter.

In a dramatic opening half, the 25-year-old struck three times shortly after Inter captain Yuto Nagatomo was sent off for two bookable offences as the Sardinian club romped to their maiden win of the season, handing their opponents a first defeat in the process.

The visitors took an early lead through Marco Sau, which was cancelled out by Dani Osvaldo, but the game truly came to life following the dismissal of Nagatomo, with Cagliari midfielder Andrea Cossu also missing a penalty as Inter threatened to implode.

Napoli survived a late Sassuolo surge to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Rafael Benitez with a 1-0 win at the Mapei Stadium.

With just four points from their opening four encounters, Benitez came into the match with his job on the line after not winning a Serie A match since the opening day of the season.

And the former Chelsea boss will be thankful that the home side did not convert one of their late chances after Jose Callejon gave the visitors a deserved lead.

Davide Succi's early goal thwarted Milan's bid to return to winning ways as Cesena held Filippo Inzaghi's men to a 1-1 draw.

The 32-year-old striker handed the hosts the lead before Adil Rami levelled on 19 minutes at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.

Milan had plenty of chances to claim the spoils from the top-flight strugglers, with Fernando Torres wasting the most straightforward.

Cristian Zapata was sent off for a professional foul in the closing stages to compound Milan's frustrations.

Sampdoria moved up to third, ahead of Udinese's clash with Parma on Monday night, thanks to a 1-0 victory in the Derby della Lanterna against Genoa.

Manolo Gabbiadini scored the only goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining to earn the Blucerchiati their third win of the season, extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Genoa, who managed only one shot on goal at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, where they were officially the hosts, lost for the second time this term, but could have had few complaints given their blunt attack.

Manuel Pucciarelli salvaged a point for strugglers Empoli in a 1-1 draw at Chievo.

Former Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone teed up the 23-year-old to draw the visitors back on level terms on 59 minutes after Riccardo Meggiorini had handed Chievo the lead.

A summer free transfer recruit from Torino, Meggiorini's debut goal for Chievo after 50 minutes, converting from Alberto Paloschi's pass, had the home side hoping for a second win of the new campaign.

Khouma Babacar secured a point for Fiorentina and a 1-1 draw against Torino at the Stadio Olimpico.

Fabio Quagliarella had opened the scoring for the home side after turning two defenders before firing home from seven yards.

However, Torino were forced to share the points when Babaca netted an equaliser for Fiorentina with just 12 minutes remaining.

^ Back to Top ^