Lazio strengthened their push for a top-four Serie A finish with a 2-1 victory over struggling Cagliari on Monday, who ended the match with nine players. Mattia Zaccagni’s penalty in the 76th minute proved to be the winner, lifting Lazio to fifth place in the standings.
The result left them tied on 22 points with third-place Atalanta and Fiorentina, just three points behind leaders Napoli. This marked their eighth win in nine matches across all competitions. Cagliari had equalized just before halftime through Zito Luvumbo after Boulaye Dia had given Lazio the lead early on.
The match quickly turned worse for Cagliari after Lazio’s Zaccagni scored his fourth goal of the season. Only two minutes later, Yerry Mina was sent off for a second yellow card following a soft foul on Valentin Castellanos. The decision sparked a furious protest from Michel Adopo, who was also shown a second yellow and sent off.
In other Serie A action, Mario Balotelli made his debut for Genoa in their 1-0 victory over Parma, a result that lifted them out of the relegation zone. Andrea Pinamonti scored the only goal of the match with 10 minutes left, and Balotelli, making his first Serie A appearance in four years, came on as a late substitute.
Though he had little time to influence the game, Balotelli received a booking in stoppage time. Genoa now sit just above the relegation zone, level on nine points with Parma, Cagliari, and Como, the latter of whom lost 1-0 to Empoli.