Serie A | Udinese 0-1 Cagliari: Maldini pounces on bad defensive error
MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 17: Fabio Pisacane, Head Coach of Cagliari, looks on during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Cagliari Calcio at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 17, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Daniel Maldini put controversy behind him by pouncing on a collective Udinese error to give Cagliari another remarkable victory.
The hosts were coming off back-to-back defeats to Lazio and Inter, the latter 5-3 despite leading 2-0 at San Siro. Nicolò Zaniolo returned to the starting XI and celebrated his Italy recall after two years, but Oumar Solet, Matteo Palma, Juan Arizala and Jakub Piotrowski were still sidelined.
The Sardinians had a spectacular start, winning three of their four games, and started Daniel Maldini despite controversy over his car accident this week. M’Bala Nzola, Mattia Felici, Yael Trepy and Riyad Idrissi remained on the absentee list.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Keinan Davis failed to make the most of a cheap giveaway, his angled drive flashing just wide of the far post, then there was a double waste when both Zaniolo and Mergim Vojvoda failed to make the most of the Hassane Kamara pull-back from the by-line.
Davis sustained a muscular injury during that move and limped off, replaced by Idrissa Gueye. The substitute pounced on a poor Elia Caprile pass out from the back to test the goalkeeper, then Christian Kabasele’s header on a corner was acrobatically palmed out from under the bar.
Caprile had his gloves stung by a powerful Gueye angled drive, then made a great reaction save to deny Kabasele’s low volley from close range, James Abankwah turning the rebound wide.
Moments later, Udinese were made to pay dearly for their errors at both ends. Lennon Miller’s back-pass took Kabasele by surprise, allowing Daniel Maldini to pounce and deposit into an empty net.
Sardinian defenders threw themselves in the path of Udinese shots, including Alessandro Deiola and Ze Pedro to deny Giorgi Chakvetadze and Vakoun Bayo, while Caprile had to be on his toes to prevent a Harry Winks own goal.
Alieu Fadera failed to kill off the game on an Adam Obert counter-attack, but Cagliari still emerged with another surprising victory, and sent Udinese to a third straight defeat.
Maldini 54 (C)
1st half
| Nicolò Zaniolo |  |
4' | ||
| Jesper Karlström | 22' |
2nd half
UDI
CAG
40
Goalkeeper
27
Defender
71'
77
Defender
11
Defender
71'
14
Defender
23
Defender
8
Midfielder
32
Midfielder
38
Midfielder
57'
10
Midfielder
46'
9
Attacker
38'
1
Goalkeeper
33
Defender
15
Defender
59'
26
Defender
2
Defender
14
Midfielder
4
Midfielder
85'
70
Midfielder
59'
6
Midfielder
8
Midfielder
31
Attacker
85'
93
Goalkeeper
4
Midfielder
6
Midfielder
15
Attacker
41
Goalkeeper
7
Attacker
38'
30
Midfielder
46'
46
Midfielder
57'
59
Defender
71'
13
Defender
71'
10
Midfielder
20
Attacker
23
Goalkeeper
22
Midfielder
24
Midfielder
12
Goalkeeper
79
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