Cagliari suffered a crushing defeat in the previous round. The “Islanders” faced Ivan Juric’s Monza at the Brianteo. The visitors tried to take control of the game, but the Brianzoli defended intelligently without the ball and looked dangerous on the counterattack. One such move ended with Kouadio’s goal in the 39th minute. Almost immediately after the break, the hosts doubled their advantage. Varela, however, did not stop at scoring once. Toward the end of the match, he completed his brace, while Robinson also got on the scoresheet. In the previous round, Pisacane’s side shared the points with Juventus.

Bologna hosted Inter. The Felsinei took the lead through Pobega as early as the tenth minute. Near the end of the first half, Palladino’s side could have doubled their advantage, but the crossbar came to Martínez’s rescue. Marcus Thuram scored late in the first half, and the teams went into the break level. The second half was marked by the Nerazzurri’s total dominance. Goals from Carlos Augusto and Bonny gave Inter a comeback victory.

It is worth examining the clubs’ main statistical metrics. Bologna, for instance, is significantly underperforming in terms of xG and xPTS. It was expected that the Felsinei would have scored 4.94 more goals and earned 5.41 more points. Cagliari, meanwhile, shows the opposite deviations. According to xGA, the Islanders should have conceded six more goals. At the same time, xPTS indicates that the Sardinians have collected five more points than their statistical performance warranted. Cagliari have not beaten Bologna in their last two seasons: the Felsinei have recorded three victories, while the teams shared the points once. In the previous campaign, the meeting at Sardegna Arena ended in a 0–2 victory for the visitors. The heavy defeat to Monza was a закономерный outcome of Pisacane’s side’s sustained overperformance. It is obvious that the team will not be able to maintain this level throughout the entire season. Bologna, having changed coaches, has not yet fully taken shape, but Palladino’s work will become more evident over time. Before the match against Inter, the coach noted that he had only recently managed to work fully with the entire squad. Cagliari’s defeat is not a fluke, but the beginning of the team’s descent to a position more in line with its true level. The visitors may compete for victory in the upcoming match.